Racing Redemption
by LadyxIris
Summary: After the events of Transformers Prime, the human kids convince Knockout to race in NASCAR behind Ratchet's back. Recruiting a stranger to be the "driver", this begins their long journey to disguise Knockout as a simple stock car and win first place, but it's harder than it seems. Although discordant at first, they grow into a family. And that's when things fall apart.
1. I N T R O D U C T I O N

_**introduction**_

_This is the story of a girl who's always kept the world at arm's length. A story of new-found family - with both the happiness and suffering that it brings._

_This is the story of an ex-Decepticon mistrusted by all, despite his intents. A story of how far he'll go to keep the little trust he has._

_This is the story of a family of children left behind by their idols, hoping to see them once more as they count down the days until the end of their childlike freedom. A story of savoring the last moments they have._

_Of an elite guard warrior, worn down by discipline and accountability. Of reminiscing about the days of innocent irresponsibility - and paying the price._

_Of a tired medic, left behind and then left alone. Of learning to cope with feeling unwanted._

_Of a kind Decepticon and his dog; a long-lost seeker thought dead. Of finding his place in the world._

_Of growth and betrayal; family and deceit._

_But this is also the story of a bitter seeker, and an unknowing story of revenge: for slights recent, and for secrets long past._

_What may seem like a simple fun summer event has long-reaching implications - and this is a story of consequences._


	2. Team Prime - RATCHET - 1

CHAPTER 1 - POV RATCHET

It was just another day at the base of "Team Prime" - or what was left of it, at least. Ratchet typed furiously on the console, with Raf beside him doing the same on his laptop. Jack was channel-surfing the TV, and from the corner of Ratchet's optic he could see Miko bounding up the stairs with a new video game of some sort. Heavy metal music was blasting from her phone. Ratchet internally groaned. Any second now there would be a fight over who would use the TV, and he would have to step in and mediate instead of getting important work done. He glanced down at Raf, the small boy frowning at his computer. The children no longer had to stay protected by the Autobots. The Decepticons were gone, which meant they were no longer threatened and could go wherever they wanted. Yet almost every day, the trio of them arrived on base. It confounded Ratchet at first, but he came to realize that enjoyed the familiarity of their second home, and took solace in the hope that one day, the other autobots may visit again. But they all knew that chance was slim. None had visited since the day they left, understandably busy with their war against Galvatron and the rebuilding of Cybertron. They may never visit, for all Ratchet knew. Yet the kids kept visiting. And they'll keep on visiting until -

Ratchet paused for a second. They'll keep on visiting until they're shipped off to Unit E training in a month. He frowned. As much as they annoyed him, he'd most certainly miss them. Ratchet was snapped out of his train of thought by commotion a few yards away.

"- was here first, Miko. You can't just butt in and -"

"It's _multiplayer _, Jack. You can join me. Come on! I've waited a week to finally play it."

"And I'm trying to watch an episode that _I've _waited a week for, Miko."

"Come on! You were channel surfing a minute ago. And - wait, are you watching a soap opera?"

"It's not a _soap opera _it's… anyways I'm watching it! I forgot it was on today, is all. So no, you're not stealing the one TV in the base to play video games."

"_ Jack! _I can't believe-"

"Jack, Miko," Ratchet groaned, covering his audio receptors. "_ All _I have _ever _asked of you is to _please _keep it down. But can you two accomplish that? _Nooo. _"

"Jack's hogging the TV, Ratchet!" Miko complained, crossing her arms.

"From what I've _heard, - _and I've heard everything due to your inability to keep your voice down - Jack only needs the television for one hour. After, you two can play your games."

Miko huffed and stormed off, her music trailing behind her. Babysitting human children was not what Ratchet signed up for when he joined Team Prime, and definitely not what he signed up for when he stayed behind to defend humankind. He should've seen it coming, honestly. And although they annoyed him - especially right now-, he would gladly lay down his life for any one of them.

"Ratchet?"

Ratchet shook his head, his train of thought once again broken. "Yes, Raf, what is it?" he sighed.

"There's a space bridge request. Looks like it's from Cybertron." Raf's eyes gleamed with excitement. Jack cautiously stood up from the couch and walked over, and Miko's head appeared from around the corner. Ratchet looked up at the console. Raf was right. A space bridge request, from Cybertron itself.

"I'm declining it," Ratchet said matter-of-factly.

"What?" The trio of kids yelled in unison. They all scrambled towards Ratchet to plead their case.

"I'm joking around! Primus save me, the few times I actually make a joke none of you can handle it." Ratchet looked back up at the console, and typed in a sequence of characters. In a few seconds, "ACCEPTED" was displayed across the screen.

"Phew! For a second there, Ratch, I thought you were going to squander our one chance to see our friends." Miko spoke, leaning against the stairs. Ratchet frowned, however. Team Prime would always message him before requesting a bridge - which meant that whoever was visiting was no teammate of theirs.

"Opening the space bridge now. Stay back," Ratchet gestured to the kids.

"Stay back? But we've been around space bridges plenty of times, they aren't dangerous." Raf said, but then quickly corrected himself. "Well, besides the normal dangers. But we've dealt with them all before."

"Just… listen to me will you?" Ratchet groaned. The kids begrudgingly obliged, congregating just a _bit _farther than where they were before. Not far enough, but it would do. He pulled down the lever of the space bridge, and the portal glowed open. A distant silhouette was then seen. Too big to be Arcee, too small to be Optimus or Bulkhead. And -

As the bot grew closer, Ratchet finally recognized his distinct silhouette. He groaned, and contemplated closing the bridge again. But he didn't. It would be a _bit _mean to leave him stranded in space bridge limbo, but it wasn't like he didn't deserve it.

As the bot stepped through the portal, the base's lights finally illuminated him - and the smug smile on his face. "Have you missed me, my old doctor friend? I know I would've missed this beautiful face." He gestured to his own face, sending a charming smile. Ratchet just rolled his eyes and groaned.

"Knockout!?" Miko yelled furiously from the back of the room. All eyes were now on her.

"Ah, the human pets! Charming little fellows," the red bot bent down, meeting the eyes of Miko, who had Jack and Raf holding her back from attacking him. "Of course it's me! Knockout! Who else has a paint job as dashing as mine?" Ratchet sighed and looked about to speak, but was cut off.

"Ratchet, what are you doing? Evil decepticon, right here in our living room! It's time to attack!" Miko finally shook loose from Jack and Raf's grasp, and started marching towards them.

"Miko, no, wait!-"

Ignoring Ratchet's words, Miko lunged at the new visitor with wild ferocity.

Author's Note

Hi everyone, this is a port of my writing from my AO3 account! (LadyxIris). I have 19k written so far there, but I'll be updating it here periodically as I get used to the website. Thanks for reading!


	3. Warm Welcomes - JACK - 2

CHAPTER 2 - POV JACK

"Humans," Knockout said, looking up and gesturing to Miko, who was now clawing at his foot. "As I said - charming."

"I'm not just a 'human', 'con! My name is Miko and I'm going to kick your butt! Again!"

If he wasn't as tense as he was, Jack would've sighed. Typical Miko, picking fights with beings much larger than she is. The only thing that kept Jack from completely freaking out was Ratchet's apparent ease with Knockout showing up in the base.

"Yes, Miko. I remember you. You're the one I trapped in that little glass jar." Knockout picked Miko up and smiled deviously. She tried to kick his face from the air.

"First of all, Knockout, put Miko down," Ratchet began. "Secondly-"

Ratchet was cut off by Miko's yelling. "You may have trapped me in that jar, but when I got out! Blam! A wham to the face with my apex armor! Lights out and payback!" She feigned punching. "And when I get out of your grasp, I swear I'll do it again! Just wait and see, KO!"

Knockout placed Miko down. "Oh yeah? I don't see the Apex armor here anymore. Oh wait, it's on _Cybertron _. Good luck trying to beat me up now, earthling."

"Knockout, will you _please _stop antagonizing Miko and just tell me why you're here." Ratchet looked as if he had a headache.

"Hey, Ratchet, wait," Jack interrupted. "Is there something I missed? We all missed? An infamous decepticon just space bridges into our base and you don't bat an eye?"

"You haven't told them?" Knockout looks up at Ratchet, tilting his head.

"Told us what?" Miko growled, turning towards Ratchet and redirecting her fury.

"I - I thought I did. I suppose not. It's been very busy." Ratchet shrugged.

"What do you mean 'very busy'? We've all been doing nothing for like three weeks!" Jack exclaimed. Ratchet rolled his optics.

"If you guys would stop interrupting him, he'd tell us," Raf said softly.

"Why must I be the one to tell the story?" Ratchet shook his head. "You asked for it. It all began 4 million years ago with the dawn of the War for Cybertron-"

It was now Knockout's turn to roll his optics.

"You're starting _way _too far back, so _I'm _taking over story time." Knockout looked between all the children, and the children all looked up at him expectantly. He held a long dramatic pause, and then simply stated, "I'm an autobot now." He smirked at Ratchet and turned, inspecting the inventions lined up behind him. "That's it. Gosh Ratchet, how hard is that to say?"

"What?" Raf asked, while the rest of the children stood dumbfounded.

"Slow to catch on, little human?" Knockout bent down towards Raf. "And I thought you were the smart one."

"_ Knockout _," Ratchet growled.

"And you didn't think to tell us?" Miko snapped at Ratchet, finally coming out of her stupor.

"Wh- Why would I - I - Well I thought I did?" Ratchet shook his head again, and turned back to his console.

"When did this happen?" Jack asked Knockout.

"The war to reclaim Cybertron. I masterfully used the phase shifter to betray and disarm Starscream. You're welcome."

"And destroyed the immobilizer," Ratchet muttered.

"And destroyed the immobilizer. But there are acceptable losses in war, right? At least my paint job wasn't tarnished." Knockout inspected his claw-like hands. "But of course, still, nobody trusts me. How hard is it to believe that I actually value Earth? The racing here is phenomenal!"

Ratchet turned back towards Knockout. "Which brings me back to my first question. What are you doing here? And who let _you _come here?"

"Tsk. It seems you don't believe in me either, Ratchet. I'm a better bot now, and I'll prove it."

"So, what, this is a test?"

"A test? If it is, I'm not aware of it."

Ratchet rubbed his head as if he had a headache. "Knockout, do you have papers for me? Everybody visiting Earth via space bridge require official documents approved by an administrator stating their intentions. Or else you wouldn't be allowed through the space bridge in the first place."

Knockout sighed. "Ratchet, you're such a stickler. You take the fun out of everything." Knockout transmitted the data via his holopad. "I'm just here to _race _, Ratchet. I've been a very good bot for a very long time-"

"It's only been a few weeks?" Raf whispered behind his back.

"- and I was finally granted permission to visit here for a little while. It'll be harmless! I won't reveal myself to anyone, won't harm a human, blah blah the whole autobot mantra."

"This says I'm supposed to be looking after you?" Ratchet turned from looking at the document angrily.

"Ah, yes. That's why I hesitated to give you the paper. You don't have to follow me around, I know the rules and promise to follow them."

"Who even approved this?" Ratchet paced around the room.

"Arcee, actually. She thought you could handle me."

Ratchet growled and went back to reading the console. "You're right. I'm not following you around. Because I didn't sign this paper agreeing to be responsible for you. So go, do whatever you want, Knockout." Ratchet then turned back toward him with a scowl. "But if I hear you're up to anything even _slightly _bad, I will notify the council to send bots to reclaim you, and you'll be in _big _trouble."

Knockout raised his hands in the air. "So aggressive, Ratchet! I'm not up to anything. In fact, I'll be leaving now. I have a race to find."

"Do you… need help finding a race?" Jack asked cautiously. "The internet makes it a lot easier. There's a page completely dedicated to races around here."

"Pfft. Why race locally when you can hit NASCAR?" Miko scoffed.

Knockout looked skeptically at them. "NASCAR?"

"Nuh-up-up! Don't give him any ideas!" Ratchet called out.

"The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing," Raf looked up at Knockout. "But you're not exactly a stock car."

"But you can be whatever you want, right?" Miko looked up excitedly, seemingly have forgotten being mad at him due to the new prospect of adventure. "Imagine that, Knockout twinning with Smokescreen! Both race-cars!"

"I'm a _sports _car, not a race car," Knockout lifted an eyebrow. "Why should I care about this 'NASCAR'?"

"It's the biggest racing event in the world," Jack stated. "Well, at least the biggest in this country, I think. It's an event to find the best racer out there."

"_ I'm _the best racer out there," Knockout simply stated.

"You've been racing a bunch of randos on the road, KO," Miko scoffed. "These people are _serious _about racing. You want to say you're the best racer out there? You have to win the Grand Cup."

Knockout now looked interested, and Ratchet looked at the group concernedly.

"Fine, I'm in. Where is it?" Knockout inquired.

"Wait up, you can't just _join _NASCAR. You need sponsorship, paperwork, probably insurance as well, and most importantly - a _driver _."

"A driver? Done. I'll just bring one of you."

"No!" Ratchet yelled. "You are _not _putting the children in danger and you are _not _disrupting a national race! Racing with sports cars in Jasper, Nevada I can stand, but I will _not _stand for infiltrating a nationwide organization. You're not even a car, for crying out loud!"

"Imagine that as a movie," Miko scoffed to her human peers. She looked disappointed with Ratchet's shut-down. "The 'alien infiltration' motif except it's just an alien that _really _wants to race."

Raf wasn't paying attention, however. "Besides, Knockout, I think you have to be 18 to be a NASCAR driver," he stated.

"You aren't even 18?" Knockout looked at the humans incredulously. "Oh, that's right. Humans and their miniscule lifespans. 18 years on Cybertron and you're still considered a sparkling. Maybe not officially, but-"

"A quick search of the human database says there's a race by the steel mill tonight. That is the only race you are _allowed _to have. Don't even _think _about NASCAR."

"Whatever you say, Ratchet," Knockout smiled sweetly and walked towards the hangar door. It was obvious he wasn't going to get NASCAR out of his mind. "And Ratchet - there's also a message there for you. Arcee said it was important." Ratchet frowned at Knockout, who slipped out the door and transformed, taking off. He turned back to the console and focused on the files, looking deeply engrossed and slightly troubled. It was in Cybertronian, so Jack had no clue what it said.

"There goes our potential adventure for the month," Miko sighed. "Imagine how wild that would be? We have to do something _fun _before we're shipped off to training in a few weeks. And we just missed our chance."

"Did you see the look on his face?" Jack whispered back. "He's not forgetting about NASCAR anytime soon."

"So, what, he's going to go behind Ratchet's back?" Raf inquired.

"Who knows? He's going to do _something _, and _we _have to keep tabs on him." Jack stated.

"Are you saying we follow him around, like spies? Rock on!" Miko yelled, before the others hushed her as to not alarm Ratchet.

Jack continued. "Since Knockout's obviously not going to tell Ratchet anything, he needs someone to guide him through the human world. If it's not done it'll be… well… disastrous."

"Define 'disastrous'?" Raf asked nervously.

Miko smirked. "I'm betting he'll reveal himself on the very first day."


	4. Split-Second Races - KNOCKOUT - 3

CHAPTER 3 - POV Knockout

Stars twinkled above a desolate road, and a full moon served as Knockout's only means of light. There was nothing quite like speeding down one of Earth's roads, with the wind in your wheels and a view unlike any to be seen on Cybertron. Of course, there wasn't very much to be seen in the darkness of night, but the stars were still a welcome comfort. No matter where you went in the galaxy, you were always guaranteed _stars _.

The stillness of the night was soon broken however, as Knockout drew nearer to a light in the distance. The race by the steel mill. It seemed humans were partying around the starting line. _Ugh _. He didn't care for human parties one bit, especially since he couldn't partake. As Knockout joined the conglomeration of cars at the starting line, a few slightly intoxicated humans cheered him on. They were right to, since he would _assuredly _be their winner.

He surveyed his surroundings. They were upon a ridge, overlooking the bright lights of the city below. Another vaguely Cybertronian comfort, however not nearly as grand. And although the view was spectacular… was it truly safe to be racing upon such a narrow winding road so high up? Not that he cared - he didn't plan on falling. At the front of the cars he spotted a model very similar to his own, except it was painted an inky black with the occasional purple highlights. Reminded him of Soundwave. And if that car was anything _like _Soundwave, he definitely did not want to mess with it. Next to the Soundwave car was a red muscle car painted even more obnoxious than his own. Kudos to the priming on the car, however spiffing up the car would do no wonders to its appearance if the paint job itself was-

Knockout felt eyes on him. He looked to the right of him, within the human crowd. He caught ebony ponytails with hot pink highlights ducking behind another person. Was it-?

"GO!" the announcer yelled, and the rest of the cars left him in their dust. He had been so distracted by his surroundings that he had failed to notice the announcer counting down. No matter - he would catch up soon enough. He revved his engines and took off, his quick burst already surpassing the slowest of the racers. Throughout the course he weaved through all of the cars, before hitting a moving roadblock. The obnoxious and Soundwave cars were head to head, their territoriality creating to room to maneuver past them. From time to time they'd bump into each other, or threaten another into a corner, but none managed to surpass the others. At last Knockout took a break for it, cutting through on the right so that he wasn't on the same side as the cliff. His ploy failed however, as the obnoxious car stopped focusing on the soundwave car and began encroaching upon Knockout's space instead. He could deal with human aggression in racing. He'd done so before. Well… in the past, most of the time that involved setting them up for car crashes, but he was obviously not allowed to do that anymore. 'No human can be harmed!' Knockout mocked internally. A bunch of baloney. It ruined the sport.

As they neared a sharp turn, the Soundwave car, which was nearest to the cliff's railing, began drifting, judging that the obnoxious car was more preoccupied with dealing with Knockout. Turned out the bright red car could multitask. Because as the black and purple car drifted, the obnoxiously red car clipped its wheel. That was cheating. Knockout had cheated against humans before, and this was most _definitely _cheating. But cheating was no longer the larger problem, as the black and purple car flipped, going right over the railing and sliding down the ridge towards the edge of the cliff.

Knockout could've easily kept going. Could've easily won the race. Actually, he would've _loved _to have done that. But if Ratchet found out that a human died in a race he was racing in, he would undoubtedly be blamed, and be banned from visiting Earth ever again. Or worse. So there really wasn't any other option. He had to save the human.

In a split second decision, he raced off the course after the car, propelling himself over the railing. The other car was flipping down the ridge at an increasingly intense speed, crushing the underbrush and narrowly clipping a few trees. Far enough that the racers wouldn't see him transform. As the mud began to get caught in his tires (he cringed at his precious tires getting dirtied), he was forced to shift into bot mode in order to keep up. But as the other car gained velocity, he feared he wouldn't make it. Nothing slowed the car, and it kept going, going, going, right off the cliff.

A voice screamed, and arm grasped out blindly. Knockout, lying prone at the edge of the cliff, opened his optics again to find that his right arm had a firm grasp on the car's door. The car itself was dangling, and inside, a human girl looked up at him fearfully. The door flew open and the car shifted again, the girl inside screaming once more. He definitely had the strength to pull the car back up onto the mountain, as long as he could get his left arm-

And like that, the car's door snapped loose, and the car plummeted. His left arm, that was originally attempting to grab the other side of the car, reached for the human within the car in a mad attempt to save them in time. But Knockout was too late. The car plummeted, a fiery explosion at the bottom of the cliff. And although he tried, he was left with two empty hand and -

His train of thought was interrupted by screaming. _How? _There was no way a _human _could survive that. But the girl's screaming continued. Knockout pulled his arms up, and to his surprise, he had actually managed to grab the girl's arm at the last second. Compared to the weight of the car, he hadn't even noticed. A wave of relief hit Knockout, and he set the terrified girl down at the edge of the cliff. He laid back and looked at the stars contemplating the consequences. Ratchet may still blame him for destroying the girl's car. He'd done that to quite a few people before on _purpose _, he may not believe that he had tried to truly save a life this time around. But cars could be replaced - lives couldn't. According to the autobot rules, at least. He may be banned from Earth again… but at least there probably won't be a _"or worse" _lurking around the corner, coupled with a small chance that they'd let him back in a couple millions of years. There was something else Ratchet would've disapproved of, however. _What was it? _He remembered the way the human looked up at him, with a mixture of shock, surprise, and deep fear. Knockout's eyes went wide. _Oh._

He frantically looked around him for the human, but she was already gone. He scanned the horizon, and saw the silhouette of her shakily running up the ridge back towards the race track. Although she was steadily getting closer to the track, there was no way she'd be getting back up there without some sort of rock climbing. Knockout ran to intercept her before she could get any closer. As he drew nearer, she looked back, and with wide eyes, ran faster. But as she was looking back at him, she tumbled right over a large tree root. Knockout was finally able to block her path.

"Hey!" Knockout exclaimed, holding out his hands in an attempt to stop her. Honestly, he had no clue what to say. "Um. Scrap! What did those autobots say when they met those pesky kids? 'Hi?' Too casual. 'Welcome. I'm an alien robot from the planet Cybertron.' Too scary. Can I settle with a, 'Don't run away or I'm going to be in huge trouble for letting our secret get out? Also you owe me one for saving your life?' Yeah, that'll work." The girl looked up with intense confusion. Although still in shock, she didn't appear to be completely terrified anymore. She was silent.

"Wait, can you even hear me? Are my audio receptors not working? Please tell me it's a problem with translation, and not that I'm the new Bumblebee. Sorry, but I wouldn't be able to forgive you for causing that. They say my voice is the best part of my character, you know. Besides my dashingly good looks." She still looked up with wide eyes. Knockout knelt down. "Am I talking too much?"

"Who are you?" She asked, finally beginning to stand up. It brought her a bit closer to his eye level, but not close enough.

"My name is Knockout. I'm uhh… a new experimental car prototype."

She raised an eyebrow. "A second ago you said you were from a planet called Cybertron."

"That's uh… the name of the project. My project. The project created specifically to create me. Knockout's project."

"Whatever you say, alien robot," she started to inch away from him. "Just… don't kill me, alright?"

"Kill you?" Knockout facepalmed. Ratchet was going to kill _him _. "Did you not just see me save your life?"

"I did. And my car was wrecked." She kept inching back towards the road. "Thank you. I… will be going now."

"No! I mean, wait! I mean… grrgh. _Please _don't leave or I'm going to be in _big _trouble."

She weakly laughed. "You, a _giant robot _, in trouble? What, are there even bigger robots out there that will apprehend you?"

"Now I doubt they'll task someone like Superion or Metroplex to hunt me down, but I wouldn't put it above them. But they most definitely _will _send other robots _my size _to hunt me down. And I'm not particularly good at combat. I don't even have a gun! How is that supposed to stop twenty of the Elite Guard?" He was really messing up big time. He knew how to charm any bot, but a human? They were so small, so unpredictable.

She looked up at him with bewilderment. She was still quaking, but looked mildly amused. "I have no clue what you're talking about, but I'm going to roll with it. Just tell me _why _I can't leave yet."

"Because you're not supposed to know I exist!" Knockout blurted, exasperated. "In exchange for saving your life, I need you to keep this a secret. And I mean it. In exchange, I'll hide this whole encounter from Ratchet as well. Because if I told Ratchet, he'd tell Agent… Fowell. Fowl? Fowler?" He looked up, scratching his chin. "Anyways, next thing you know, the government will be knocking on your door and take you away to interrogate you. You don't want that, right?" She shook her head nervously. "Good. You get to keep your life, and I get to keep my racing permissions. It's a win-win."

Knockout started walking back towards the road. "So is it a deal?" He knelt down again and held out his hand. She took a look at his sharp shiny hand and retracted further away, but then looked up at his face. After a while she had the courage to walk up to him and grasp one of his fingers. They shook hands to seal the deal, the girl looking at him with intense curiosity. Finally he stepped away, and turning towards the road. "I suppose you'll need my help getting back up there."

"Um. Yes," she responded, still out of breath from her near-death experience. "What about my car? What do I say happened?"

"Everything that happened right until I saved you. Except you're an independent human that can escape your own car as its hurtling to impending death. I don't think that's actually possible, but it could make a compelling story." He looked back down at her again, his red optics one of the only things visible in the darkness of the night. "I've never asked. What is _your _name? Humans have such strange names. No respect for Cybertronian naming conventions at all."

"Rylee. Or just Rye." She seemed to have calmed down a bit. "Do you have a nickname?"

Knockout thought back to the many instances of Miko calling him 'KO'. "I don't really have a nickname, no. And Rye? I like that name better. Closer to our naming conventions. Naming yourself after an Earth grain rather than a nonsensical string of letters… well, that's what I expected from Earthlings." He looked down with the hint of a smile. "Not names like _Jack _, or _Miko _, or _Raf _… What are they supposed to mean? It's infuriating!"

"Don't you think it adds originality?" She asked, starting to walk with him. "If all of you name yourselves after objects and terms that already exist, how original can _you _truly be?"

"Don't get all philosophical on me, human. It makes things a lot easier. People know what I'm like without even having to meet me! When I walk into a room, everyone is instantly knocked out by my stunningly good looks. It's a given." Rylee stifled a laugh. "What?"

"Nothing," her face slid to neutral, but soon a hint of a smile reappeared on her face. "So you're a knockout back home on Cybertron? What, did they admire your paint job? Looks pretty dirty right now."

"More than just my paint job. My curves, my speed, my-" Knockout suddenly raised an eyebrow. "Wait a minute. Did _you _just insult me?"

"Just stating the truth. Sorry Knocky."

"Knocky?" Knockout said incredulously. "I - what -" He shook his head. "My paint job is ruined because_ I _saved your life. Wherever I drop you off, I need you to buff my finish before I leave. I doubt Ratchet would do it and I don't trust Miko anywhere near my tools."

"Drop me? I thought you were just taking me back up the ridge."

"Yes, but I have time to kill and _you _don't have a car." He looked down at her matter-of-factly. "I'd hate to save your life only to have you run over on a dark road alone, and I get blamed for it anyways."

"If you insist." She took a deep breath. "This is still so weird. I've come to terms with the fact that I'm definitely dreaming. Or dead. Still not sure if this is supposed to be heaven or hell. So you know what, whatever. Let's go wherever." They reached the ridge, and Knockout held his palm to the floor.

"That _wherever _is just your house. You'll never see me again after that." Knockout nodded to his hand. "Step on. You want to get up the hill, don't you?"

Rylee cautiously stood on Knockout's hand, who easily lifted her up the ridge previously seven feet above her. Knockout then climbed over as well.

Knockout quickly looked around, making sure no (other) humans were in sight, and darted to the road. "Over here, hurry!"

"What?" Rylee raced after him, squinting her eyes in the darkness. Knockout had a mischievous smile on his face.

"Watch this." In a flash, Knockout transformed. The tall robot that was there a moment before was now just a red muscle car. Rylee stepped back, wide eyed. Knockout flipped open the side door. "Get in."

"What?" Rylee scrunched up her face. "I'm not just getting inside of you."

Knockout sarcastically laughed. "Come on, you don't have to make it weird. For what it matters, I'm just a car."

"You are most certainly not 'just a car', Mr. Robot Alien." She analyzed Knockout's vehicle mode. "I remember you from the race. You tailgated me the whole time."

"And _I _most certainly was not tailgating. You and that rude buddy of yours trapped me behind you. If it weren't for the laws of the autobots, I would've shoved the both of you off the road."

She laid a hand on Knockout's roof. "What _are _you? You're a robot, but you're also a car, but-"

Knockout impatiently revved his engine. "I can answer all that _on the way home _. Can we just get out of this dusty crevasse? And away from this crime scene of yours?"

Rylee hesitated for a few moments before entering the red car. He shut the door after her. A moment later, he tore down the road.

"Woah, Knockout, wait, you don't even know where you're going?"

"It's this way, isn't it?" Knockout said, exhilarated from the speed.

"I mean, yes, but…" Rylee cautiously had one hand on her lap and one half on the steering wheel. "Am I supposed to be driving? Don't I have to put up the illusion that I am if a police officer drives by? And won't said police officer pull you over?"

Knockout scoffed. "I thought you were a racer. Dare I remind you that all those races are _illegal _? Now you're scared of police?"

"Being caught racing is a lot different from being caught speeding in a car that doesn't belong to you, and turns out to actually be a robot alien. But, you're right."

"Oh course I am," Knockout said smugly. A few silent seconds passed. Now that there were street lights, Knockout could finally see the features of this small human. Female. Brown hair. Average height and weight. He couldn't really remember any other human classification systems. Those autobot 'Human Relations' lessons truly were wasted on him. And although this couldn't technically fit in a human "classification", he could tell in her eyes she had an insatiable curiosity and a thirst for adventure. He saw the same in his own. "Where am I going?"

"Oh, right." Rylee shifted in her seat. "7832 S-"

"Do you _think _I know Earth addresses? Enter it in the holopad." A panel within the car lit up, and Rylee punched in the address there. "That's a lie. I learned the road numbers of my favorite racing destinations on Earth. I've just never been _here _." The holopad lit up, illuminating a GPS right to her house.

Knockout stopped suddenly and skidded for a second, before continuing on. "What was that?" Rylee asked.

"How old are you?" Knockout asked suddenly.

"...Why?" Rylee asked. "How old are _you? _"

"Relatively young," Knockout began. "Only a couple million years." Rylee could only blink in response to that. "Now tell me. How old are you?"

"Nineteen. Why do you care?"

"Say, Rye, I had an idea," Knockout began excitedly. "And that idea required your help. Would you be in?"

"By the way you're asking me, I'm not sure I _want _to know what the idea is." After a few moments she leaned forward, inquisitive. "What is it?"

Knockout suddenly transformed, catching a screaming Rylee mid-air. He set her down on the side of the road and squatted next to her.

"What was that?!" Rylee asked, pushing the windblown hair away from her face.

"So," Knockout began, ignoring her question, "Have you ever considered joining… _NARCAR _?"

"Narcar?" Rylee tilted her head. "Do you mean NASCAR?"

"I only heard about it for the first time a few hours ago, sue me!" Knockout stood up and raised his hands, turning away. He suddenly turned back toward her. "I want to join NASCAR. I've taken on all the little league races on this little dirt ball, and I think I'm ready to fight the best of the best. See if anything Earth has to offer can even _compare _to the amazingness which I am." He knelt beside her again. "The problem is… apparently I need a driver. _'Driver' _. Pfft. And you're in need of a car at the moment. So how about we join NASCAR together?"

Rylee gaped for a moment. "I -" She looked at the ground confusedly. "You met me twenty minutes ago. Revealed to me that aliens exist and the government's been hiding them. And now ask me to help you infiltrate NASCAR?"

"It's -" Knockout sighed, dragging his hand down his faceplate. "Why do people keep calling it 'infiltration'? I'm just trying to test my skill!"

"People?" Rylee asked. "There are more?"

"Yes. Luckily none of them were _my _fault. But all of them are also too young to drive in NASCAR. If only the Autobots had chosen more useful pet-" Knockout cut off his own words, looking down at the small human staring up at him. "_Friends _, I mean."

"What? I'm the only adult out there that knows about you guys? That can't be right." Rylee's eyebrows furrowed. "And who are the Autobots?"

"Yes, there are other adults out there who know we Cybertronians exist. They're just… more inclined to detaining me and sending me back to Cybertron than letting me anywhere near a race track. Even if that race track was empty."

"They don't trust you, huh?" Rylee tilted her head the other way. "What'd you do?"

Knockout stepped onto the street and transformed back into a car. "I see a car light in the distance. Let's hit the road." Rylee entered the car again and Knockout took off, leaving a haze of dirt behind him. As Rylee searched the horizon, she realized there were no cars anywhere to be seen. She said nothing.


	5. Busted! - RYLEE - 4

CHAPTER 4 - POV RYLEE

Within five minutes, Rylee had arrived back at her home - a small suburban house with an expanded garage. She had learned more about "Cybertronians", as Knockout had called them, on the ten minute drive through the city. Their origin, their biology, language and more. But - as Rylee had acutely noticed - he wouldn't speak much of their recent history. Why were they even on Earth at all? The closest she got to an answer was a singular reference to "the War". He wouldn't speak of it again. He never shut down the questions, only deflected and redirected them. But she could tell he was avoiding _something _.

Knockout pulled up to her garage. "Mind opening?"

"Wait, you're actually coming inside our house? I thought you were just dropping me off?" Rylee whispered frantically. She had not thought this through. What did she plan to do with a giant alien robot? Was her mother home? What would her mother say?

"Remember," Knockout drolled, "You were supposed to fix my paint job. Plus, if we're joining NASCAR, we kind of have to stick together."

"I never agreed to join NASCAR!" Rylee hissed. "I have a _life _. I'm starting my second year of college in the Fall, I don't have the time or money for NASCAR!" Rylee exited the car and opened the garage, which Knockout pulled into.

"You owe your life to me, the _least _you can do is get me to the NASCAR finales," Knockout said pompously, then sighed. "I realize that was rude. Autobot morality lessons on 'How to treat humans with respect (even though they're much smaller than you!)' have at least taught me that much. And although I can recognize my own rudeness - well… at least to pass their exams - that's not going to stop me from -"

"Shh!" Rylee whispered, looking from side to side.

"Did - Did you just _shush _me?" Knockout responded loudly. "The audacity, the gall, the -"

It was at that moment that Rylee's mother came bursting through the garage door.

"Rye! I'm surprised you're home so soon! I'm just leaving now, I just have to find my glasses," she squinted at Rylee. "Who were you talking to?"

"Just… calling my friend over the phone." Rylee took a step away from Knockout, who was parked silently, as her mother searched the workbenches within the garage for her glasses.

"Oh, your_ friend _? Is he your boyfriend?" Her mom winked at her, and Rylee groaned.

"Mami, I don't have a -"

"If he was, I may just approve. I like that rumble in his voice. Mrow!" She playfully side-eyed her daughter, and Rylee just stood there at a loss for words. She finally found her glasses on a workbench, and placed them upon her nose. She turned back towards Rylee.

"Finally! Alright Rye, I'm heading to my sisters' now, so -"

She froze when she laid eyes on Knockout. "Rye? What happened to your car?" She asked concernedly. "Wasn't it… black and purple? And this is an entirely new model. You invested so much time and money into that car, and now -"

"Mami, mami it's fine!" Rylee drew closer to her mother, the light finally illuminating her, and rested her hand on her shoulder. "Instead of going to the race I traded in my old car for this new one. Much better!"

Alarm entered her mother's eyes. "You head is bleeding. Are you alright?" Rylee reached for the side of her head, and sure enough, blood coated her fingers. That wasn't good.

"I'm fine! The person I traded cars with, we… uh… practiced for a costume party. It's fake blood."

"Costume party in the middle of the Summer?" Her mother asked, moving towards the garage's exit. Rylee nodded vigorously, with a smile. "Pfft. 'Costume Party'. I bet it's just an excuse to hang out with that new boyfriend of yours. You can't fool me!"

"_ Mom - _"

"I know, I know!" She smiled at her daughter and kissed her on the top of her head. "You're sure you're fine with me leaving for a few weeks? Hopefully it's just a few weeks, unless my sister gets worse." Rylee nodded, and her mother entered her own car and rolled down the window. "Alright then. Love you."

"Love you," Rylee mumbled back. Her mother then pulled out of the driveway, allowing her to finally close the garage door at last.

The first thing Knockout did was transform back into robot mode, his arm accidentally unhinging a bulletin board.

"Hey! Careful!" Rylee picked up the bulletin board, only to have Knockout turn around and accidentally knock over a workbench with his legs.

"I think your 'mami' likes me," Knockout grinned, completely ignoring all the destruction he caused. "Who wouldn't? She hasn't even _seen _the better half of me yet."

"She wasn't in love with a _car _, Knockout. She liked your voice. And that was most definitely sarcasm. She messes with me like that." As Rylee lifted up the workbench, she winced at the pressure on her left wrist. Letting go, she noticed the blood stains she left behind.

"By the way…" Knockout began cautiously. "I hadn't seen you fully until now. Are you bleeding red… human energon? You'll need a transfusion quick."

Rylee laughed at how ridiculous it all was. "I don't know what the hell energon is, Knockout, but thank you for your concern. I'll be fine. Unless I lose a ton of blood, I won't need a transfusion." She touched her wound again. Still bleeding. Although she hadn't lost much, she was worried that if she didn't go to a hospital and have it stitched up, she would just keep on losing blood.

"And your wrist?" Knockout asked, obviously observant. _What was he, a doctor?_

"May have fractured it when you clamped down on it. Maybe earlier. But either way, I'd rather have you save me and have a broken wrist than just plummeting to my death. So… thanks." She took a gauze from a cabinet and wrapped it around her head. "I'm fine! Promise."

Knockout looked genuinely concerned for a few more seconds, before suddenly dropping it. "That doesn't sound right, but I don't know enough about human health to protest it." Rylee grabbed a buffer and moved toward Knockout, who plopped himself down on the floor. She then began fixing him up. "So. NASCAR?"

"I've told you before, Knockout. I can't. We don't have the money, or the team, or -" She quickly turned towards Knockout. "You're not even a stock car!"

Knockout sighed. "Do I really have to look like that rookie Smokescreen? This car model is worth _millions _, and I have to trade it out for some… corporate nonsense?"

"That's another thing!" Rylee raised her hand. "We don't have a sponsor! And how am I supposed to get someone to make an investment on an alien car?"

"The same way you get someone to make an investment on a normal car." Knockout said matter-of-factly.

"I don't know anything about investing!" Rylee hissed. "I'm nineteen!"

"We'll figure it out."

"_ We? _" Rylee paused buffering to look at him incredulously. " _You _would be doing nothing. You won't be able to do anything. You don't even know how to access the internet. No, _I'd _be the one googling how NASCAR even works, and then going out there and doing it for real. It's too much."

"But you're a _racer _. Don't you want to… you know… race?" Knockout frowned at her.

"A racer now without a car." She continued buffering, but looked away from him. "I spent my life's savings on that car. I don't know what I'll say to my mom when you go 'missing' as well." She focused on her work. "Besides, I gave up that dream when I went to college to get a 'real' career. One not fueled by misplaced dreams."

Knockout seemed to not know what to say. "Well… You're out of school, correct? Why not just… try it out during the summer? Before you go back? No harm in having fun."

Rylee sighed, and kept buffering in silence for a while. He was a lot shinier than she had initially assumed, the grime from the ridge wearing away to expose the bright coat underneath.

"You didn't warn me that you were going to blind me. This is almost as obnoxious as that dude that rammed me off the road." Knockout looked incredulously at her, about to protest. "Alright, I'll admit, at least you don't have the neon lights he does. Now _that's _bad."

"I'll have you know that I was the _most stylish _one on the road. Even more stylish than yours! I thought humans had a sense of style, shame on you. Decepticons have no love for cool automobiles, and the autobots do, but they're a bunch of nerds! I thought _at least _humans would understand my fashion choices. Maybe I shouldn't have -"

Rylee had zoned him out by now. She was more interested in a silhouette in her garage's window. Not trying to let on that she saw a figure, she hissed Knockout's name and slowly reached for the garage control remote.

"What? Do _not _interrupt me. I'm having a very important speech here. Humans are so inconsiderate."

Knockout wasn't going to be any help. At least, until he was also made aware that they were being stalked. After a few seconds of listening to Knockout drone on, she jumped, and slammed down on the "open garage" button. The garage opened, revealing three kids smiling awkwardly, caught red-handed.

"Uh… hey… Knockout," the tallest boy awkwardly smiled. Knockout did not look the slightest bit amused.

"You know them?" Rylee turned to Knockout.

Knockout sat up from the floor, responding in a sarcastically deadpan voice. "How could I not?" He rolled his optics. "They're the autobots' pets."


	6. Very Suave Spies - MIKO - 5

CHAPTER SEVEN - POV Miko - Hours Ago

Miko stretched to look over someone's shoulder, straining to see the idling cars. Was Knockout here yet? What if he found a race better than the one Ratchet suggested to him? Or even worse - he was here for a nefarious reason _other _than racing. Miko dialed Jack on her phone.

"Miko. Have you found Knockout yet or do you just have more conspiracy theories?" Jack answered, sounding exhausted.

"KO is a no-show. What if he-"

"We'll worry about that once the race starts. We still have five minutes. We'll be here at the finish line. Call back if you see him." And with that, Jack hung up. Miko glanced back at her bike to make sure nobody had touched it. Her job was to watch the starting line, and bike after them once the race started. Jack thought she was crazy for trying to do that, but she'd biked longer trails in worse conditions. Besides, she had to make sure Knockout didn't just stop in the middle of the race or leave a trail of ruin. Jack was the one that had to pay the taxi costs from the base, and at first didn't want to pay more to retrieve her bike. But she could be _persuasive _, you could say. Or just loud and annoying.

Miko's phone rang. "What is it? Is KO over there at the finish line?"

"No," Raf answered. "I found out how to create a continuous three way phone call that functions as a walkie talkie. Now we can stay on call and your minutes won't be drained."

"Oookay," Miko responded. "Hey, do you think Ratchet's suspicious of us?"

"Why?" Jack answered, seemingly preoccupied.

"We kind of rushed out of there. He looked like he had something to tell us."

"As long as we're back tomorrow, and Knockout hasn't caused any problems, everything will keep on being normal. But if Knockout causes any problems, we'll be the first to know, and call Ratchet right away. Isn't that what he'd want us to do?"

"I think he'd want us to be away from any problems a decepticon could create," Raf said, and there were a few seconds of silence. He then half-sighed, half-laughed. "But… it seems we've never listened to what Ratchet wanted, so why start now?"

Miko looked over a shoulder, scanning the racers. One annoyingly bright one, one cool looking purple one, one red -

She stopped searching the racers. One _obnoxiously familiar _red car. "Knockout's here," Miko spoke into her phone. Knockout's side mirror suddenly turned to face her, and Miko ducked back into the crowd. She then ran for her bike, and in the time it took for her to reach it, the race had begun. After all of the cars took off, she managed to slip past the announcer and biked right after them.

Fifteen minutes of biking passed without anything exciting. She feared it'd be like this the whole way.

"Uhh… Miko?" Jack asked over the phone, and Miko slowed and raised the phone to her face.

"Yes, Jack?"

"Have you… seen anything? Four people have crossed the finish line already, and none of them are Knockout. Either his driving skills are a bluff or he's caught up… somewhere."

"Aha!" Miko shouted excitedly. "I told you you'd need me and my biking! Now_ I _get to uncover Knockout's nefarious plan! Who knows what it could be! Is he secretly meeting Megatron in the woods? We'll never know until I bike there!"

"Just… pipe down, Miko, will you?" Jack responded. "If Knockout _is _there with Megatron, you don't exactly want them knowing _you're _there too."

Miko grumbled. "_ Fine _, Jack. Or maybe I do want them to know I'm here. I'll give them a piece of my -" She stopped dead in her tracks. Was that a car ahead?

"Miko? Are you-"

"Shh!" Miko shushed Jack, and hid herself and her bike in the bushes. She opened the camera on her phone and zoomed in. That was definitely Knockout. And next to him was… a girl? She listened in on their conversation, but mostly she just heard harmless bickering. Miko smiled deviously and took a photo, which she then sent to Raf. "KO's gonna be in _so _much trouble," Miko whispered, smiling. The bickering two mentioned they'd be heading to her house, and then took off suddenly. Raf ran a face scan of the photo - Rylee Anders. He then matched that ID to her contact card, and divulged the address of her home.

"But are we sure we should just… show up at her home?" Raf questioned, as Jack was already calling a cab. "Can't we just show the photo to Ratchet and bust Knockout?" Obviously not, because soon enough they were all bunched together in a cab, chasing Knockout's trail.

Jack cringed as he gave up the last of his cash for the cab fares, and they all stepped out of the car to their location. "This has been fun, but we're never doing this again. Not unless Fowler would like to fund us."

They snuck up to the garage's window. Jack was the only one tall enough to look through.

"I want to see!" Miko hissed, jumping up to get a glimpse through the window. This new girl was seemingly buffing Knockout. Miko's boots fell back down onto the gravel with a harsh sound. Both Raf and Jack shushed her.

"It'd be better to lift me up so I can see continuously and relay the information to you, rather than have you hopping up and down," Raf said to Miko innocently. "That way we-"

"You're just saying that because you're not tall enough to jump and reach the window, Raf," Miko hopped again, trying to look through. "Can't Jack carry you? He can already see. I can't hop _and _lift."

"The point is you're not supposed to _hop _!" Jack scolded quietly, turning towards her. "What we're doing right now is the _opposite _of stealth. We need to -"

The garage suddenly opened, leaving them face to face with a confused woman and an unamused Knockout.

"Uh…." Jack stuttered, the three of them standing there uncomfortably in the light of the garage. _Very suave, Jack. _"Hey… Knockout." He smiled awkwardly.


	7. Green Light - RAF - 6

CHAPTER 5 - POV RAF

"'Pets?'" Raf stormed forward, his small self suddenly feeling daring. "You keep calling us that, despite us being on the _same team now. _What, are all humans pets to you? Is _she _your pet now, Knockout?"

The girl crossed her arms and skeptically frowned at the giant robot. "No. No! Of course not!" Knockout raised his hands innocently at the girl. "That's my title only reserved for… um… humans doing Cybertronians' bidding on their own account." The girl held up the buffer with a disbelievingly straight face. "That's… different," Knockout smiled sheepishly, then sent Raf a look basically saying '_ I will murder you in your sleep.' _Raf gulped and stepped back. That was enough daring for the day.

"Knockout, what's going on?" Jack asked, confusedly looking around at the garage. "Ratchet will _not _be happy about this."

"This is, like, the third time I've heard that dude's name. Who is he? Are there more robots here?" the girl interjected.

"I know, I know!" Knockout responded to Jack. "But what was I supposed to do? Let her die? The autobots would definitely have my head for that." Knockout frowned as Miko opened her mouth. "And before you ask, no, I did not throw her off the road. All of you being so skeptical of me is _not _helping my 'redemption' or 'reintegration' process or whatever the Autobots called it."

"Redemption for what?" The girl whispered, looking at Knockout.

"He," Miko burst. "Was a mean, old, nasty 'con who -"

"Keyword _was _!" Knockout yelled, cutting her off. "And I'm not _old _. History is history. The war's over! Nothing's going to come back and bite us."

"Yeah, just like how Megatron _and _Unicron totally didn't come back and bite everyone as Galvatron. The past always finds its way back. Always."

The girl looked lost, and Knockout looked like he was about to throw hands with a bunch of pre-teens. "I won't ask this again. How did you get here. And What. Do. You. Want."

"How we got here is a long story we'll tell in a few minutes when things are less hectic and that girl isn't bleeding out of her head. You that apathetic, Knockout, that you'll let a person bleed out just so that they could buff your finish? Talk about 'Cybertronian's bidding', hypocrite." Jack frowned at him, and Knockout frowned right back. They stared at each other, tension building for a while, before Knockout suddenly threw up his hands and turned.

"It doesn't matter what I say. You all will hate me anyways! She _said _she was fine. How am I supposed to know Earth biology?"

"You're a _doctor _, Knockout. You really think a Cybertronian bleeding from their head is good news? Why would that be any different for a human?"

Knockout dragged his hands down his face, and the girl looked between the two parties. "Will someone explain what's going on? How do you know each other? What war? What's a 'con? And…" the girl raised an eyebrow at Knockout. "You're a _doctor _? The medical profession and racing are two careers I would have never related to each other."

"Yeah, Knockout," Miko teased. "You should've been something more stereotypical, like an _ambulance _."

"I am most certainly _never _going to copy that old coot. The gall to suggest it! Ambulance! Ratchet's vehicle couldn't even pass 60 miles-per-hour."

Jack stepped up to the girl as Miko and Knockout were arguing. "I suppose we'll have to explain it all later and get you cleared for Sector E as well. For now… what's your name? And… honestly asking… what's he even doing here?" He pointed at Knockout, who was heatedly debating with Miko the aerodynamics of rescue vehicles. "Knockout's the type to drive off without looking back the second he's no longer absolutely needed."

The girl crossed her arms and shook her head. "I'm Rylee. And yeah, he seems the type. But he does want something from me, though. He wants me to be his driver for NASCAR."

Miko and Knockout suddenly stopped arguing, Miko's eyes going wide from excitement again.

"Knockout!" Jack accused, crossing his arms. "Was this all just a ploy to find an agreeable human that was old enough to drive in NASCAR?"

"I _saved her life _, you gnats. How long does that take to get it through your thick skulls? Her being old enough is just a convenient bonus."

"Great idea!" Miko jumped, going from confrontational teen to hyperactive adventure-seeker. "We'll be your pit crew! It'll be the perfect way we can keep an eye on you! And we'll help you hide it all from Ratchet too!"

Jack and Rylee both hesitatingly tried to protest, before Knockout stood up. "Glad _someone _agrees with my idea. I knew we'd get along." He playfully nudged Miko with his foot, who shoved him right back. He then knelt down to Rylee. "Here's the crew you were missing," he winked.

"_ Crew? _" she asked incredulously. "They're barely even teenagers!"

"Yet they've fought a war, and are the only ones that_ can _know of my secret." Knockout looked up at Jack. "Besides Agent Fowl… Fowell…"

"Fowler," Jack cut off, but then laughed nervously. "And… haha… no. Don't even attempt to contact him about this."

"We already tried," Miko grimaced. "_ Not good. _"

"So you all really are serious about helping me out," Knockout tilted his head in surprise. "Not what I would have expected."

"I never actually _agreed _-" Jack began.

"Jack, please!" Miko pleaded. "This is our last summer. Before we all get shipped away to Sector E training camp for good. We have to make these last few weeks worth something, right? Who knows if we never see another transformer ever again?"

"I mean… I see where you're coming from, but not everyone agrees-"

"I agree," Raf said out of nowhere, staring at the ground. "I think it's time for me to actually get out there and do something than just let life pass me by." He looked up. "I should've pulled a few 'Miko's' when I still had the chance. Now the crew and Bee are gone, and probably Ratchet soon as well. What if they never visit Earth again? What if they all just, forget about us and leave us for scrap now that their little war is over?"

They all looked at Raf with wide eyes.

"I never knew you felt that way, Raf," Jack said softly.

"I'll be honest, I've never spoken to any of you enough to know what any of you are like. But I promise you, youngest one, that_ I _won't forget about Earth. The racing is too good! And seeing as how Earth was once Unicron, I don't think anyone else will be forgetting about Earth anytime soon either." Knockout suddenly tightened his lips. "I don't mean to dissuade you from helping me out, just trying to comfort. I guess." Knockout looked awkward.

"What do you say, R-Y?" Miko asked Rylee, a mischievous look on her face and hands on her hips. "We go for NASCAR?"

Rylee looked between everyone's expectant faces within the room, before finally sighing at the floor. "If you promise that you'll explain to me everything you all just talked about…" Rylee then looked up, a mischievous smile on her face as well. "Fine. I'd say I'm go for NASCAR."


	8. Totally Normal Hospital Visit - JACK - 7

CHAPTER SIX - POV JACK

"Alright, anyone care to explain why it was _'so important' _for me to take an emergency shift break to come meet you all in the backrooms of the hospital?" June Darby looked over all the children. "And who's that?" She nodded to Rylee.

The group scrambled out of the hospital chairs they were lounging in.

"Mom! Thank god you're here. We have a bit of a medical emergency."

"What?" June asked, wide-eyed. She squatted down to inspect Raf. "Did something happen to you again, Raf? Unknown energon side effects? Did -" She quickly cut herself off, glancing at Rylee. "Did I say 'Energon'? I meant Europium," she laughed. "He had a run-in with… um… nuclear materials."

"I'm alright," Raf answered, avoiding revealing that she was in on the secret. "The problem is with her, Rylee."

"Rylee, is it?" June stood up. "Sorry for my manners. I'm June Darby." They shook hands. June looked at her with concern. "What happened to you? Your head is bleeding." She then turned to the original trio, and whispered, "Attacked by Decepticons?"

"Pfft, you can say that," Miko whispered, and Jack nudged her.

"No, I was just in a car crash. Almost flew off the side of the road. Glad I'm alive but I need some quick help and I'll be on my way."

"A car crash? A… _normal _car crash?" June asked concernedly. She glared at the kids.

"As normal as can be. Nothing… suspicious about the car crash at all," Rylee answered suspiciously. It was at that moment that June noticed something through the window behind them. When she looked back, it was obvious she didn't believe a single word they were saying.

"Of course," she said, taking out bandages and disinfecting materials. "And Jack, where did you all meet Rylee? You don't leave your… _internship _very often. Why not run her through the normal hospital system? And how did you get here?"

"We… I…" Jack stuttered. "We visited a race. And she crashed. And we got a cab for her! Jeez mom, why the interrogation? She's bleeding here!"

"Very plausible," she said simply, starting to disinfect her wound. "Just one more question." She paused her work and faced all of them. "What is a restless-looking Knockout doing in the parking spot reserved for my boss?"

"What?!" the kids yelled, turning to look out the window. There he was, a few parking spots away, his motor still humming and his headlights flashing. That is definitely not where they left him. When all eyes were on Knockout, he suddenly realized his error and shut off his engine and lights, but it was too late.

"That's… not Knockout. What are you talking about, mom? Are you implying that sentient cars exist? That's crazy," Jack said.

"I know, right?" Rylee gasped. "And from their own planet? What a ridiculous idea!" Jack facepalmed. "Oh, wait. Nobody mentioned space. My bad."

June couldn't help but smile, but her eyebrows were still furrowed with concern. "I know what Knockout _looks like _, Jack. Fowler and I were _kidnapped _by him. How could I forget?"

Rylee frowned. "Kidnapp-?"

"Yeah, me too!" Miko stomped her foot. "I swear, I'm gonna…" She feigned boxing against an IV stand. "I'll only let him off the hook if we win."

"Win what?" June asked, suspicious. She was getting out a stitches set. "What is it you're all not telling me? Did Knockout run you over, Rylee?"

"No. No! He didn't," Rylee said quickly. "He kind of saved my life."

June confusedly smiled. "I heard he was an autobot now, but saving a person's life? That's a new one. I find it hard to believe he's truly changed."

"Well… he did." Jack sighed, relieved they managed to conceal their future plans in lieu of explaining the past. "And I see that Rylee needs stitches, so… How about we tell you the thrilling tale of how we got to this point?" _Minus the NASCAR plans, of course _, Jack thought.

"Alright," June said, preparing the kit. At the sight of the staple gun, Rylee shakily took a deep breath. But she stood her ground.

The kids all sat as well, and Jack finally began. "It all began this morning, with a very suspicious space bridge from Cybertron…"


	9. Team Mountain Dew - KNOCKOUT - 8

CHAPTER EIGHT - POV Knockout - Now

Sunlight blazed down on the two kids as Knockout observed the stock cars unofficially gathering to race outside the track. Training, he supposed. He finally studied the fabled "stock cars". Maybe he would have to start matching alt-modes with Smokescreen. What a horrendous idea. At least he's probably back to his cybertronian alt-mode, now that he's back in the Elite Guard, Knockout mused. Sure, Knockout wanted to be fast... but at the cost of his signature look?

"Knockout, can we please turn on the air? It's hot in here," Miko complained. Knockout was stuck babysitting Miko and Raf while Rylee and Jack worked on getting a NASCAR license. Of course, Knockout could've just said no, and left them alone at Rylee's house. But knowing Miko, she would've somehow found her way here anyways.

"If you turn on the air I'll zap you like I did to Jack's friend."

"Come on! For turning on the air?" Miko crossed her arms.

"Yes."

Knockout actually had no problem with turning on the air. He had a problem with turning on the air for Miko .

"I don't get it. Why can't you just scan them from up here?" Miko complained.

"I can . I don't want to," Knockout said curtly.

"The point is to find the fastest car - which means whoever wins the race. He'll then copy that one," Raf looked out the window. "He also just wants to race. I keep trying to tell him that cars engineered for racing are faster than sports cars, but he won't believe me."

"Exactly!" Knockout then opened his doors and dumped the two kids on the ground. "I'm going now. And stay here . I don't want to be responsible for one of you being run over."

"Wait!" Miko jumped up, hopping into the driver's seat. "You can't go down there without a driver !"

Knockout groaned. "You're not old enough to be a driver. Didn't you hear Rat?"

"Raf," Raf said softly.

"Raf. I'm sorry." Raf was the only child in the trio that didn't completely irritate him. He was the only one who deserved to be called his real name, yet he could never remember it.

"Yes, but having an underage driver is better than having no driver at all . I'll be there just in case." Miko crossed her arms. Knockout was a second away from dropping her in the nearest pond.

"Fine!" Knockout slammed the door shut and went racing down the hill towards the starting line. "Just don't blame me if you die."

"If I haven't died by now, I definitely won't now." Miko said, calling someone on her phone. "Unless this is intentional sabotage. You still a Decepticon, KO? I gotta punch your lights out?"

"Who are you calling?" Knockout replied tiredly.

"It's me," Raf replied over the phone. Knockout could see Raf sitting on the grass upon the same hill that he left him.

"Why?" Knockout asked, pulling up the race.

"Moral support, man!" Miko exclaimed. "Well, you're not man. I guess bot." She raised a skeptical hand to her chin. "Or 'con?"

"Your confidence in me is astounding," Knockout said sarcastically.

It was at that moment that someone knocked on Knockout's window. For a moment, he had completely forgotten the other racers there. About half looked like, as the drive-in movies would call them, "rednecks". Others were unusually young, and some were decked out in full racing gear - the more experienced NASCAR drivers, he assumed. The one knocking on his window was one such human, donning a "Mountain Dew" jumpsuit and grinning snobbishly.

"Hello?" the human said, continuing to knock. "This race is only for those qualifying for NASCAR." Knockout stayed silent. Miko opened the window a bit, but Knockout rolled the window back up. The man's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "You take a wrong turn? Sports cars aren't exactly allowed in NASCAR."

"What are you doing?" Miko growled, still trying to roll down the window. "He's not just gonna go away!"

"Really? You have an idea?" Knockout silently hissed back. The man knocked on the window a few more times before the window suddenly opened.

"Yes?" Miko smiled. "Why can't I just race?" The man surprisedly raised an eyebrow.

"You're like… twelve? And..." He commented, and Miko's smile turned to rage as she leaned toward the window.

" Yes I am. And what about it?"

Knockout regretted opening the window for Miko.

"How… can you afford this car?" He gestured to Knockout. "You have a license?"

"Yo," Miko said plainly, resting her arm on the window. "Can I drive or not?"

He stood there for a moment, and then shrugged. "Why not! More people to beat," he said, starting to walk away. He then sent finger guns back. "Just make sure you cheer for me at the national championship! Every Mountain Dew you buy there is money in my pocket."

Miko smiled, and closed the window. Her smile fell into a brooding frown. "I'm never buying Mountain Dew again."

"What idiot would buy dew from a mountain?" Knockout questioned.

"It's… a soda, Knockout," Miko said.

"You say that like I know what that means."

"It's a carbonated beverage. Other examples are Coca Cola and Dr. Pepper. Ever heard of any of those?" Raf explained over the phone.

"Hmph. Maybe," Knockout replied. He'd in fact been extremely annoyed by the repetitive Coca Cola ads that played before every movie at the drive-in theater, but he wouldn't let the kids on to his little personal vendetta.

Soon enough the race began, and for the first time in his racing career on Earth, he found himself lagging behind. If he weren't so surprised by their speed, he'd be offended that rudimentary Earth technology was faster than any Cybertronian tech. But at the moment, he was too focused on trying to keep up.

Miko looked as if she couldn't decide whether to laugh at Knockout or to enter road rage. She finally fell in a fit of hysterical laughter.

"Will you please shut up?" Knockout huffed.

"I'm sorry," Miko wiped her eyes, still smiling. "You're getting beat by a human. I thought you guys were the best of the best. No wonder the Decepticons lost the war!" Knockout didn't have the patience to respond to her. Miko then suddenly got deathly serious. "When you get your new alt-mode, and are actually equipped to keep up, you better not screw this up. On an equal playing field, you 'bots would win any day. Unless you screw it up. Kapeesh?"

"Not very motivational, Miko," Raf replied over the phone, and then there was a silence. "But… you really do need that new alt mode. First place already overlapped you."

"And who is that?" Knockout asked. He was tempted to just stop the race right now. He was being humiliated by humans. And then being made fun of by other humans. At least no one from back home is here to see me like this , Knockout thought.

"Mountain Dew," Raf said plainly.

"I hate Mountain Dew!" Miko screeched, gripping the wheel.

"Hey! Off!" Knockout yelled, pushing Miko onto the passenger seat.

"Don't you drink Mountain Dew every day?" Raf questioned.

"Never again!" She yelled, trying to untangle the seatbelt Knockout locked her into. "I've now sworn off that lime green bog water!"

Knockout didn't understand how the Autobots - especially Ratchet - had the patience to put up with them.

The race was soon over, and - as expected - the Mountain Dew driver won. The driver stood outside his car, gloating to everyone now crossing the finish line. Knockout resisted the urge to run him over. Just a minor hit, only a broken arm or two. But he didn't. He drove into the shade of a tree and scanned the winning car. He kicked Miko into a nearby bush and transformed into the other car. It was… strange. He felt a lot hollower, and his engine felt heavier. He was also now a putrid lime green, with an obnoxious "Mountain Dew" sign tacked along his sides. Miko angrily jumped out of the bush before setting eyes on Knockout and breaking down into laughter.

"Ha!" She laughed. "That has to be killing you. Mr. Fashionista, with eyesore green!"

Knockout swung his car door open, almost hitting Miko in the face. "Just get in."


	10. Stock Car in Disguise - RYLEE - 9

CHAPTER NINE - POV Rylee

"Why couldn't I get a paint job before doing this?" Knockout groaned.

Rylee and Jack were pulling into the parking lot for Bigham Oil Co. - the last company they could find that was openly looking for a NASCAR racer to sponsor. Hopefully they weren't too late, and hopefully they'd manage to impress them. But with their rag-tag appearance, she wouldn't be offended if they were turned away.

"I don't know, Knockout, why won't you transform?" Jack teased.

"Because there is no way I'm going to be seen like _this._ _I_ don't want to see myself in lime green. And my curves! Gone!" He wailed.

"So sorry, Knockout. I'm sure you'll be just fine staying as a car forever," she snickered.

"Tell me again why I couldn't cover this hideous coat?"

"Because," Rylee answered, unofficially parking right in front of the main building. "Who knows how much longer they'll be looking for sponsorships? We have to snatch it up while we can."

"Plus," Jack said, reclining his seat. "At least you have the semblance of professionalism."

Knockout popped the chair back up to an upright position, and Jack let out a shriek. "Lime green is professionalism!?"

"Yes. _Looks _like you have NASCAR racing experience. Which you don't have, because you have "alien robot" experience. Or whatever." She tapped the dashboard, and then collected the paperwork. "Now shut up while we go talk to the big wig."

"You got the NASCAR license, right?"

"Yes, Knockout," she droned. "How many times do I have to -"

Knockout revved his engines suddenly. "Look who's entering the building! A guy in a jumpsuit! Is he trying to get the sponsorship? Don't let him! Throw him out the window if you have to, and I'll take care of the clean-up. Now hurry up and get out there!" And with that he kicked both Jack and Rylee onto the sidewalk. She looked at the building's entrance to find an elderly janitor.

"Knockout!" she growled, tapping on the window. "That's a _janitor's _jumpsuit. And he's most likely too old to race." Knockout stayed silent, save for the low hum of his motors. "And turn yourself off while we're gone. A running car parked out front is kind of suspicious."

They checked in with the receptionist, and after thirty minutes of waiting, the head of the promotional department agreed to meet with them. As Jack and Rylee entered the office, they were greeted by a middle-aged man chewing on a cigar with a sleazy smile.

"Come in, come in!" He said, gesturing to the open chairs. They both uncomfortably sat. "I read your papers. So you wanna be our NASCAR driver? I don't have much time, so the top of the line - you got it! You're the racer! As long as ya got a car. Now, where is she?"

Rylee blinked. "Who?"

"Your car. Where is she?"

Jack looked like he was about to crack a smile, but Rylee kept a straight face. "I parked my car in front of the building."

He stood up, office chair creaking loudly, and a jolly smile on his face. "A'ight, let's see 'er!"

They followed him downstairs and through the door, where they all crowded around Knockout. There were visible signs that Knockout was not all the way offline, and Rylee held her breath, hoping the man wouldn't notice.

"She's a beauty," the man said, and Knockout's side mirrors quickly swiveled to look at the man. Jack and Rylee's eyes went wide, but the man remained oblivious. "But…"

The man suddenly turned, holding his arms out in the air and smiling. "Oh, where are my manners! I'm Charlie Snakesworth. I run our promo's here at Bigham, and what better promo than NASCAR! And you are…?"

"Jack. If you don't mind me asking…" Jack began cautiously. "Why has every sponsor found a racer except you? You'd think sponsors are in short supply, not the other way around."

Snakesworth laughed heartily. "An excellent question we won't be able to get to today, Jack… hmm..." In the sunlight, he seemed to finally get a good look at the duo. "Are you sure you're old enough to be racing in NASCAR?"

"He's not," Rylee answered. "I am."

"Er…" the man frowned. "License?" She handed her NASCAR license, and he squinted at it. "Alright, insurance?"

Rylee blinked. "I… thought you'd be able to help with that. And everything else. I've never done this before, but I know how to race and I have the car, so that's good enough, right?"

"Actually," the man interrupted, lighting his cigar. "It's not good enough. This is an outdated car, barred from NASCAR racing a couple 'a years ago. Come back with one that can legally race." The man then snickered, "Or not at all."

Knockout's engine revved suddenly, obviously fed up. The man jumped back.

"Jesus, Knockout, what happened to _'Robots in Disguise? _'" Jack inaudibly hissed to Knockout, and Rylee plastered a smile onto her face and slapped the roof of the car. Knockout went silent.

"Haha, the car does that sometimes," Rylee laughed, nudging Jack. "Right Jack?"

"Uhh. Yeah. It's crazy!" Jack smiled, halfway laying his body across the trunk of the car. Rylee raised an eyebrow, but then noticed what he was doing. From time to time the trunk would try to pop up, and in order to keep it closed, Jack had to lean all his weight on it.

"Give me a moment," Rylee smiled to Snakesworth, and sped over to Jack. "What's going on?" She whispered.

"Gah! Whatever!" Jack exclaimed, finally letting go of the trunk hood and letting it pop up. "You're the worst, Knockout."

"I thought that was reserved for Megatron?" Knockout said innocently through the trunk speaker.

"What are you doing?" Rylee whispered to Knockout.

"Just keeping the option of kidnapping him open to you all," Knockout responded simply.

"What?!" Jack exclaimed, a bit too loudly.

"Whatever you want to do!" Knockout replied. "Just know it's an option, that's all."

"That is _not _an option," Rylee hissed. "I am _not _getting arrested."

"Suit yourself," Knockout responded. "Personally, I think you should go the diplomatic route, though. Will get me in less trouble."

"Knockout, if you didn't want to get in trouble, you wouldn't have tried to join NASCAR in the first place," Jack sighed, shutting the trunk.

They waved Snakesworth back over to their location, who was watching them all skeptically. "Do I want to ask what that was about?"

Jack shook his head and Rylee responded, "Just fixing up the bugs, that's all!"

The man continued to eye them skeptically, chewing his cigar, before finally puffing out smoke. "Well, I don't know what to tell you guys. Your car's outdated, not to mention _defective _, by what I've seen here."

The man turned to leave, but Rylee stopped him. "Wait! What if we told you… we could get a new one? That worked, and was allowed? Are we the racers?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever," he responded. "I doubt that's going to happen though."

"And by any chance… do you have an example of a legitimate race car?" she asked.

He frowned at them once again. "Yeah, out back. It was the last time we had a racer. It won't run though - it was a totally normal car breakdown, but don't you dare touch or look at it. If ya really serious about being the racer, come back with a new car in 24 hours. Or don't come back at all - it'd just be wasting my time." He then entered the building and disappeared from sight.

"Wonderful," Jack said. "And I mean that both legitimately and sarcastically. We really have to deal with that guy? He's grating my nerves."

"'Be back in 24 hours'" Rylee mocked. "Yeah, sure. We'll be back in less than that, right, Knockout?"

"If you two would stop blabbering, yes." He then scooped the two into the car and went speeding towards the backside of the building.

This parking lot was devoid of life, and filled with random abandoned trailers and set props. And, just as the crooked man said, a race car sat parked next to a trash bin. It looked as if it had been out there for quite a while, and assorted car tools laid around it. They both exited and stood by the dilapidated vehicle.

"Well?" Jack asked, turning towards Knockout. "Can you scan this, or does it have to be fully functional?"

"Pfft," Knockout responded. "Please, I'm the master of scanning and internally fixing broken vehicles. You know how many cars I've scanned_ after _I've thrown them off the cliff?"

There was a silence - Jack shook his head while Rylee looked stunned. "You're right. I shouldn't sound so proud about that." Light emitted from a sensor on Knockout's hood as he scanned the other vehicle, electronically imaging it. He then frowned. "Gas tank ruptured. Primus, what's this company putting in their gas?" He then sent a smile back at the two. "Good thing I don't use gas."

"Great. Now we know why nobody wants to race with them," Jack grimaced. "That, and their… _friendly _attitude."

"Attitude, we can deal with. I mean, you all put up with Miko everyday anyways, right?" He smirked. "One new alt-mode, coming up!"

Within seconds his lime green "Mountain Dew" car turned a pure white, a cursive "Bingham Oil Co" now etched along his sides. She'd never seen anything like it, an entire car transforming before her eyes. It shouldn't have been any more surprising than finding out a car could turn into a robot, and yet -

Rylee only realized her surprise was visible when Knockout started laughing. She stuck out her tongue at him. "Well I'm _sorry _I've never seen a robot alien car transform into another car before. It's a _bit_surprising, you think?"

"I wouldn't know," he said nonchalantly, transforming into robot mode.

"Woah!" Jack yelled, looking around. "We're in _public _. What are you doing?"

"Do you see anyone around? No? So we're fine." Knockout shrugged. "Besides that… thing." He pointed at a pigeon that had landed atop the car, and smirked. "But that's not a human, is it? I can never tell."

Jack crossed his arms, and Rylee's eyebrows furrowed confusedly. "Kidding. Gosh." Knockout inspected himself. What was once red was now white, and his sharper features were now more smoothed out. He looked different, almost kinder. "Hmm. Almost giving me a dose of nostalgia."

"How?" Jack asked. "Hard to believe you were ever anything except red."

"And is it so hard to believe I was a doctor before the war, as well? White was standard medic color scheme. When I joined the Decepticons I was allowed to be whatever color I wanted."

"Yeah? Is that why you joined the Decepticons? Cool color scheme? Did nobody tell you Ratchet's allowed to wear orange?"

"_ White _and orange. But whatever." After inspecting the golden cursive on his arms, he looked down at the two with excitement in his optics and smiled. "Alright, ready to join NASCAR? For real this time?"

They both smiled back up at him. His enthusiasm warmed her heart - how could she say no? "Yeah, Knockout. Let's -"

"Wait," Jack cut off. "How is he going to react to us finding a brand new car within five minutes?"

Knockout and Rylee looked at each other, and Knockout shrugged. "He needs a car, he needs a car," he smiled. "He'll get over it. Now, we have a race to win."

AUTHOR'S NOTE

Thank you so much for reading this and reviewing! I actually started crying from happiness yesterday at all the kind comments, so thank you :)

I have four more chapters to publish before it's all caught up, so I'll be posting them daily. Thanks!


	11. S T A R S C R E A M

PROLOGUE - POV Starscream - _Moments after the ending of Transformers Prime_

As Darkmount loomed menacingly into the sky, one bot roamed the hallways of his former home, now desolate. This bot was Starscream, and he was the only one still left living. When Predaking had sent his cronies after him in an act of revenge, Starscream was sure he'd finally met his fate. Years of escaping Megatron's deathly grasp, only to be taken down by a _beast _when at last Megatron was off the leadership table. It was unfathomable - and luckily, Starscream didn't have to spend much more time fathoming it, since Darkmount's automated defenses had taken care of them. It was a stroke of luck that he activated them in time… it was as if Primus himself refused to let him die. And if the universe wanted him to make something of his life, he most definitely would.

The clank of Starscream's feet on the cold metallic floor rang hollow across the lab chambers. Empty test tubes stood before him, broken out from the inside by the creatures that lived within. Mini-cons that, united, could imbue powers that surpasses even the primes. Megatron was a fool for having never utilized them in battle, and now that Starscream had found them, they were conveniently all missing. Starscream looked at the pinging radar on the console - a congregation of sparks headed rapidly toward the infested mud-ball he had already spent more than enough years on. Despite his displeasure with the destination location, he smiled. They were missing - though that did not mean they could not be found. And when they were, everyone who had ever crossed him would pay the price - Shockwave, Knockout, Soundwave, all the way down to Megatron himself.

A grin on his face, he headed toward the exit before something caught his optic, and his grin grew larger. A frame hung from a stand, a nostalgic blend of primary colors. Something he had regretted letting go of a long time ago. He looked over his current frame for the last time. Silver and sleek, perfect for stealth and speed - not for absorbing the power of the primes and taking on Megatron himself. What he needed was his old, early-war frame - one threatening enough to instill fear, to break wills. And luckily for him, that stood right in front of him.

Author's Note

Hey everyone, this actually used to be the old introduction! I decided to move it to later in the fic to help with the flow of it all. This chapter was directly inspired by Starscream's montage in Robots in Disguise 2015, and May or May Not be foreshadowing ;)

Thanks for reading!


	12. Flash, Click - RYLEE - 10

CHAPTER TEN - POV RYLEE - _Weeks Later_

Flashes of light disrupted the night and the clicking of cameras carved echoes in her head. Rylee posed next to vehicle-mode Knockout, a 3rd place medal pinned to her white _Bingham Oil Co _jumpsuit. Reporters clambered from behind the ropes to get a picture of Nevada's NASCAR finalists, and although most of the attention was on the first place winner, there was also a buzz about the young woman who came "out of nowhere" and stole the finalist spot from those who had been training for a while. Rylee's face was aching after ten minutes of smiling.

"I'm all for self-glory," Knockout mumbled. "But this is going on a _bit _too long." Rylee discreetly smacked his hood.

"Shut up," she said through gritted teeth, still smiling. "Besides, you don't even have to do anything. You're just sitting there."

"I'm _posing _," Knockout whispered. "It's a _talent. _Learn it."

Rylee sighed. No matter how many times she'd tell him to be quiet, he'd never listen. She was honestly surprised they hadn't been found out by now. Knockout wasn't doing a _particularly _good job covering up the fact that he was an alien robot car.

Twenty minutes later, they were all finally officially set free for the night. Rylee climbed into the driver's seat and headed toward their hangar, where Raf, Jack, and Miko were waiting. When they were finally out of earshot of the reporters, and the windows closed, Rylee began speaking.

" Third place, Knockout?" Rylee laughed, almost disappointed.

"That's better than what you could get!" Knockout said indignantly.

"On paper, _I've _just won third. Not you," Rylee said smugly, though jokingly. "I thought you were the 'Fastest There Is'. At least, that's what you said before we started this race."

"Hey, I'm new to this whole stock car thing," Knockout said, annoyed. "I'm learning. Next time we race, those fleshlings will be in the dust."

"_Fleshling,_" Rylee mocked, and Knockout groaned.

"Huuuuuman. Is that better?"

"I'm just messing with you, Knocky. You did fine. We'll do better next time!" Rylee smiled, and paused. "But _only _if we don't get kicked out for you being an _alien robot car! _Jesus, Knockout, you really don't know anything about camouflage. What's the term? 'Autobots in Charade?'"

"'Robots in Disguise'" Raf said over the intercom. "You all did great. Statistically speaking, _much _better than all other NASCAR rookies. Then again, they didn't have a Cybertronian on their side."

"Being the _only _Cybertronian in the race, I should've gotten first," Knockout mumbled. "I can't believe I was beat by mindless Earth technology."

"It's not that bad," Rylee comforted. "You said it yourself, you're new to this whole style of racing. We'll get 'em next time."

They pulled into the hanger with the 'Bingham Oil Co' banner tacked on it, and shut the doors. After Raf gave the all clear, Knockout transformed into robot mode.

"Finally!" Knockout said, stretching. "I was starting to get an ache in my servos. I need an oil bath. Do you think our dear Charlie could set that up for me?"

"For the last time, Knockout," Rylee said, searching her duffel bag for her normal clothes. "I have literally no excuse for going to _Mr. Snakesworth_ and requesting dozens of gallons of oil, so _no. _"

Rylee finally found her change of clothes and headed to the backside of the hangar, behind a few crates. They'd been given permission to sleep in their hangar for the time being, so they all had brought their sleeping bags with them to keep Knockout company. Rylee felt relief that her mom was still out of town, or else she would've been extremely suspicious a while back. She'd assume she was spending the night at a boy's house. Sure, that'd be true - if the "house" was a NASCAR hangar and the "boy" was a vain alien robot car and two children. As she was changing, she could faintly hear Jack having a conversation on the phone outside of the hangar. With Miko being grounded for the last week, Rylee almost forgot that Jack remained with them.

"Mom, mom, everything's fine! I'm at study group!" Jack groaned. Silence.

"Yes, I_ know _I said that last time and then I was secretly hanging out with a bunch of robots, but this time I really am! I mean, there's no more robots to hang out with besides Ratchet, right? They're all back on Cybertron!" He laughed, but soon fell quiet.

"Wait, Ratchet called you?" He said softly. "That's unusually _caring _for Ratchet. He pretends he doesn't want us around and becomes jealous when we leave. I'm just thinking he feels guilty for the last time he didn't follow through with checking up on us. You know, when the Decepticons kidnapped us. But there's no more decepticons, right?" Jack laughed, and Rylee peered around the crate at him. Jack glanced at Knockout, who was checking his reflection in a puddle. "Am I talking too much?" Jack said, out of breath.

Rylee could see that his enthusiasm was completely drained. Having to lie to his mother again seemed to be taking a toll. Jack walked back outside the bunker, now putting his mother on speaker. She could barely make out the words.

"If you say that's what you're doing, then fine. I believe you." Jack's mother said over speaker. "Now that you've basically ended a war, I suppose you're mature enough to know between what's right and wrong. Just… whatever you're doing…" She paused. "Just don't forget about Ratchet. He said he had something _very _important to tell you all, and frankly I think he's getting lonely. All three of you 'pester' him for months and suddenly for weeks you all disappear?" She sighed. "I know you're all up to something, something that not even Ratchet knows. Just… please… stay safe. I trust in you to make the right decision. Love you, and I'll see you tomorrow morning."

Now changed, Rylee walked to the hangar door, although masked by its shadow. His call was now finished, and his head held low. Rylee wanted to comfort him, yet something held her back. Lit harshly by the fluorescents of the lampposts, he then looked up at the sky, as if looking for a planet he knew he wouldn't be able to see. After a while, he quietly exhaled the thought consuming his mind.

"Am I making the right decision?"


	13. Hit Sensation - JACK - 11

CHAPTER ELEVEN - POV JACK - _Morning_

As a sudden burst of sunlight disturbed his sleep, Jack awoke to the ever so charming Mr. Snakesworth standing above him.

"Rise and shine, sleepy heads!" Snakesworth said in his face. "The press need answers." Jack jumped, and quickly looked around the crates at Knockout.

_Please tell me he's not in robot mode…_

As if Jack's worst fears were coming true, Knockout was recharging, on the floor, with Rylee trying to shake him awake. _Wonderful._

"So, where's the star driver? Her and I have a _lot _to talk about!" He took his sunglasses off and grinned, his goatee arching unusually. As Charlie began to turn, Jack quickly grabbed his sleeping bag and stood up, grasping his shoulder.

"Er… can you let go?" Snakesworth raised an eyebrow.

"I am… sorry to inform you of this current predicament," Jack said, stalling. "But at this moment I do not believe Rylee and her car are present. If you want, you can leave your message with me. And then leave." Jack glanced behind Snakesworth to see Rylee now attempting to lift Knockout up. Knockout wouldn't budge.

"The girl and her car aren't present? Where'd she take the car?" Snakesworth shook off Jack's hand. "She not realize it's Bingham property now?"

"What?" Jack refuted, now paying more attention to their conversation than Knockout. "That was her car to begin with. How is it yours now? You didn't pay the cost of any of it? What if the car doesn't want to be owned?"

"Legal matters, kid," Snakesworth said, bending over toward Jack. "I know it's probably too much for your young adolescent head, but this is what the real world is like."

Jack said nothing, but internally scoffed. _Yeah, sure, I can help end an intergalactic war between two sides of a species you don't even know _exists _, but reading legal paperwork is 'too much for me'._

"Okay then," Jack replied sharply. "What did you need Rylee for?"

"You see, kid, the press loved that little PR stunt," Snakesworth pulled out a cigar, lighting it. "Now I need you to tell me who's behind the voice. For accountability, you see."

Jack frowned. "What PR stunt?"

"'What PR stunt?'" Snakesworth mocked, taking a huge whiff of his cigar with a smile. "The talking car, genius. He and the girl had quite the rapport."

Jack's blood ran cold. "Talking… car? But that's impossible."

"I_ know _that's impossible. Huh, you must've woke up with less brain cells than usual. If you're gonna play dumb, then watch this."

Snakesworth pulled out a phone with a video on it, titled "Compilation of Racer 84 and her Car." A four minute long video, already with 2 million views. Unfortunately, the reporters' microphones had managed to capture every single time Knockout had whispered to Rylee. _How would they explain _this? _First Fowler was going to kill him. And then Arcee._

As Jack watched the whole video, his anxiety lessened. None of the audio clips revealed Knockout's true form - instead, it was mostly gloating and occasionally complaining. Jack could see how it could be passed off as a PR stunt. When the video ended, Jack cheekily smiled.

"You caught us!" Jack laughed awkwardly.

"Very cool, very neat. Wish you would've informed us _beforehand _, but it played well nonetheless." He threw his arm around Jack's shoulders and walked him out of the hangar. "Now what I need is the person who voices the car. They need to be responsible if they say something inappropriate and there's ever a PR disaster. Can you tell me who that is?"

Jack looked up at Snakesworth and smiled awkwardly again. "Uh… yes. I can."

_What was he supposed to say? Nobody could talk like Knockout except Knockout! And he's not supposed to _exist!

"Al...right. Who?" Snakesworth said slowly.

"I. Me. I'm the voice," Jack said, panicking.

Snakesworth let go of Jack with a hearty laugh. "You? _Really? _Say something, then."

"I… can't right now. It's too early in the morning."

"Really?" Snakesworth took another whiff of his cigar. "So you'll have your voice back by 9 PM tonight? Because tonight, we're filming our first commercial. You guys were a hit, and we _have _to capitalize on that!"

Jack's eyes widened. "A commercial? I… appreciate that, but I can't appear on live TV. I promise you it sounds worse than it actually is, but I just can't let other people know I'm here. Or they'll have very strong… _opinions _, let's say."

"Good thing you're a voice!" Snakesworth playfully punched his shoulder. "And yes, you have to be there. We need you to record audio clips."

"Me? There? Speaking?" Jack exhaled. "Can't I just… take the audio clips at home and send them to you?"

"We have studio-grade equipment, kid. Even then, we need someone there directing you to make sure you're saying the lines with the right inflection," he grinned, baring his teeth. "Don't worry, you'll be paid."

"Good to know!" Jack said, his anxiety ever growing. "I'll tell Rylee when she gets back. Bye!"

"Don't be late! 9 PM sharp at the headquarters! And bring your voice!" Snakesworth called as Jack scurried back inside the hangar and shut the door. Jack could barely catch his breath before Knockout started talking.

"Does this mean I'll be on live television? People see _me _in advertisements in drive-in theaters? _Sweet _."

"Knockout!" Jack yelled angrily, running into the main hangar. Knockout and Rylee were hidden behind a crate, obviously listening in. "It's your fault we're in this mess! You couldn't keep your mouth shut for just five minutes?"

"This is a good thing!" Knockout exclaimed. "They_ love _us!"

"Are you forgetting something?" Jack snapped. "You're not supposed to be able to talk! Now we need a human voice to vouch for you, and now I'm that voice, and I can't talk like you!"

"That sounds like a you problem," Knockout said nonchalantly.

"_ Knockout _," Rylee scolded.

"I have an idea," Raf said from his swivel chair. "Back at base prime, they had a ton of weird technology. Reading the logs one time, something mentioned a voice modifier. Although probably meant to be implanted in Cybertronians, I can probably modify it to fit you."

"Only two problems with that idea," Jack responded. "One, Ratchet. Finally visiting him out of nowhere just for a piece of technology is… highly suspicious at best. Two, _Base Prime doesn't exist anymore. _"

"I'm sure Ratchet has backups. You'll just have to ask him," Raf said.

"As I said before, I can't just _ask _him!"

"I will, then," Rylee replied simply.

"Wh - No! You know you can't. You're just -" Jack realized everyone looking expectantly at him, even Knockout, who was smirking.

"Fine," Jack said, running a hand down his face. "We're going to visit Ratchet."


	14. What's Left of Team Prime - RATCHET - 12

CHAPTER TWELVE - POV Ratchet - Afternoon

"Still looking to join 'Team Prime?'" Ratchet laughed over the communications, his voice echoing across the empty Hangar E. The image of Heatwave, leader of the Rescue Bots, hovered on the comms screen.

"What, 'Team Prime' of just you?" Heatwave laughed back. "No, for once I'm fine staying here with my Rescue Bots. I know I'm needed here."

"Good to know," Ratchet said with a cheerful tune, but in his spark was a twinge of sadness. It's terrible to say that he missed how things were, but he did. Back when they were all together, but now the kids had run off and all his friends back on Cybertron. _Cybertron…_

Ratchet's thoughts were interrupted by an alarm coming from the other side of the comms.

"Duty calls," Heatwave said gruffly. "Another solar cycle, another rescue. I'll talk to you later, Ratchet. And good luck with your reassignment." The comms went silent, and Ratchet was left staring at a blank display. His smile fell as he stared into the emptiness of the screen, the only noise to be heard a faint beeping from one of his inventions.

"How come you never called other bots when we were here?" a voice came out of nowhere, and Ratchet almost jumped. He turned to see Jack standing in the entrance of the base. He'd been so used to them being gone that for a while, silence was the norm.

"First, young man, explain to me where you all have been these past weeks!" Ratchet wagged a finger at him. He was frowning, but on the inside he couldn't help but feel a knotted relief. They were okay. But were they really? And would they return? _It's better without them here. Quiter. I can focus on my work, _Ratchet would tell himself. But it wouldn't change the fact that he missed them. That he missed company, period.

"Look, Ratchet, I'm sorry about that," Jack grinned sheepishly. "We've just been so busy… I have study group, Miko's been grounded, and Raf is... building a computer?" Jack said the last part as if it were a question.

"Don't give me that," Ratchet huffed. "Miko sneaks out of being grounded all the time, Raf builds his inventions here, and 'study group' is not _all day _. Something is going on here. Last time I saw you all, you went running out the room after Knockout. Don't tell me he roped you into something."

Ratchet suddenly looked away. _Knockout! _He had completely forgotten to keep an optic on him.

"I… don't know what you want me to say, Ratchet," Jack said, rubbing the back of his neck. "We're busy. I'm sorry. I thought you didn't even want us around."

Ratchet looked flabbergasted. "I may _act _like it but you _know _that's not true!" He could no longer meet Jack's eyes - he turned to his console. He took a moment to calm himself, and continued. "I'm sorry I started hounding you as soon as you entered. What was it you came here for? I can safely assume that it isn't my company."

For a few moments there was silence, and Ratchet turned again to be met by a guilty, tormented look on Jack's face. Ratchet felt sympathetic for a moment, but wouldn't let Jack see that.

"So? What is it?" Ratchet snapped, turning back to his work.

"I… I need a voice modifier, Ratchet," Jack said mournfully. "My study group, we're putting on a play at the library and we need to change our voices. Do you still have one?"

"Really? Which play?" Ratchet asked skeptically.

"Umm…" Jack looked like he was panicking. "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

"And who are you playing as?" Ratchet asked off-handedly. He was trying to trace Knockout's tracker on his console, but no results were showing up. Odd.

"Uh…." Jack seemed stumped. "Hamlet?"

Ratchet turned once more toward Jack and slimmed his optics.

"I wasn't even aware you knew of Earth art?" Jack laughed nervously.

He didn't. He had no clue what 'Midsummer Night's Dream' was, or who 'Hamlet' was, but he wasn't going to let Jack on to that.

"It's in the back. Next to where we used to keep the phase shifter," Ratchet finally said, not looking at Jack.

"Yeah, when Smokescreen wasn't hoarding it," Jack said, walking toward a trunk. When Jack wasn't looking, Ratchet looked at him skeptically again. He was definitely up to something. And while it would be easiest to point that out and turn him away, he didn't. He wanted to see where this would go.

Jack pulled a large device out of the trunk. "This is it, right? Do you have one a bit… smaller? Human sized?" The object he pulled out was roughly the size of his hand, but it was mostly wires.

"The gall of you to ask. Back on Cybertron, that was top of the line engineering! So small it was almost unnoticeable when attached to any Cybertronian!" Ratchet knelt down in front of Jack. "But then humans come in and say it isn't _'small enough' _."

"Ratchet, I'm sorry, I -"

"I'm just messing with you, kid." Ratchet cut him off, reaching into the trunk. "Of course, I've developed things more advanced than 'top of the line engineering' since the war started. I've had to." He dropped a much smaller version of the object into Jack's hands, this time without wires. "You can fit it in your ear. I developed one for you kids a while back, mostly with Raf in mind since he was managing communications here with me."

Jack placed it in his ear. "Well, did it work? Do I sound like you now?"

"No," Ratchet replied. "First, you have to press the round red button to start recording for a new voice set. You also need ample audio samples before you can talk like another. Usually that can be obtained by listening to another for a while, but it will only activate when it's heard every letter and every different way of pronouncing the letter. When used to impersonate an ally, the ally would usually provide a baseline audio sample of all needed pronunciations. It would take five minutes at most. When trying to impersonate an enemy, the device will have to sometimes listen through hours of propaganda and intercepted messages to piece together a complete voice. Starscream's voice was easy to impersonate because he talked so much. Megatron too - but he was a bit too obvious to successfully impersonate, so we avoided that. Soundwave was the hardest to impersonate. To this day, we don't have enough records of him speaking to put together a full voice." Ratchet finally stopped talking. _And there was his tendency to over-explain the history of inventions to willing listeners _.

"I think that's very neat," Jack said, in Ratchet's voice. Although he should've expected it, it threw Ratchet off.

"You already collected that much audio data on me?" Ratchet asked incredulously.

"What can I say? You like to talk," Jack said, still in Ratchet's voice.

"This is weirding me out. Take it off."

"Whatever you say, Ratchet," Jack smiled, taking the earpiece off. He then looked at his watch, and panic filled his eyes. "Well Ratchet, it was nice seeing you, and thank you for the tech, but I uhh… have to go. Now. Goodbye." Jack started striding towards the door, and Ratchet glanced at the Cybertronian letter on the desk. He had read over that about a dozen times, trying to figure out how to tell the children the news. Turned out he wouldn't have to for a while, because the kids left him before he could.

"Jack, wait," Ratchet said, hesitating. "I…" He shut his mouth, still unsure how to say it. "I have something important to tell the three of you. Please just… bring them all here. And soon."

"Got it!" Jack sent a thumbs up, but it seemed he was only partly paying attention. He was more focused on getting out the door.

Within moments Jack was gone, and Ratchet stood motionless in a hollow and silent hangar once again.


	15. Spotlights - KNOCKOUT - 13

CHAPTER 13 - POV Knockout

"Did we really have to pick her up?" Knockout groaned, driving 80 mph down the highway. "I liked it better when she was grounded."

"Shove it, KO," Miko sneered, tightening her seatbelt. "And technically, I'm still grounded."

"Tell me to shove it one more time, and I'll shove _you _out of the car."

"Guys," Rylee complained, rubbing her eyes. "Please keep it civil. At least for the next couple of hours."

"Eyes on the road," Jack reminded.

"Oh, right," Rylee said, grabbing the steering wheel. He'd noticed her doing that more often. Luckily it hasn't been in a race yet, but it'd get there eventually. He didn't mind, though.

"Do we have to do this?" Knockout complained again. "I have to stay silent for hours while Jack will be up there slandering my good name."

"Hey, it wasn't my choice to slander your name," Jack said, slipping the earpiece onto his ear. "_ You _decided to become the famous 'talking car' and now _I _have to read out pre-written advertising lines."

"Jack's right," Raf said, focused on the GPS. "If you hadn't spoken, we wouldn't have had to go to great lengths to keep up your disguise."

"Is everyone my enemy today?" Knockout sighed. "I -"

"How do I sound?" Jack cut off, in Knockout's voice. "Hi, I'm Knockout, and I want nothing more in life than to race and look good while doing it."

"Wow, you've really got his whole character down," Rylee smiled.

"That… that's not me!" Knockout exclaimed. "Well… all of me. I'll admit on the surface that's what I seem, but can you act the part of _inner _me?"

"I highly doubt I'll have to," Jack responded, turning off the voice modulator. "They audience is looking for the 'narcissistic car archetype', not a three-dimensional character. They don't care about you. The real you, I mean." It was silent for a second, everyone looking off down the road, and Rylee still gripping the wheel.  
"Harsh," Miko grimaced.

"It was," Knockout muttered. "But the show must go on. We're here."

They pulled into the Bingham Oil Co headquarters, only this time there were multiple trucks surrounding a newly-built set. Snakesworth stood ready to greet them.

"Great. This marks the beginning of my designated silence period. Absolute torture," Knockout groaned.

"I'll be beside you the whole time, don't worry," Rylee smiled and patted the dashboard. "Who else would be driving the car?" She then rolled down the window to greet Snakesworth, who leaned in through the window.

"And here's our stars!" He yelled, then looked at the back row. "And two guests…?"

"My brother and sister!" Jack quickly said, hopping out of the car. "They were dying to see the film-making process."

Snakesworth suspiciously eyed Raf and Miko, who were both smiling sheepishly, and then turned to Jack. "Well, I wouldn't call it _film-making _, but it's certainly a process."

"Right," Jack said, and then frowned. "Wait, what exactly are we advertising today?"

"What do you _think _Bingham Oil Co is advertising?" Snakesworth plopped Jack on the head. "Oil! Our gasoline chain, specifically. 'Our gas is so magical, it put a car in the championships _and _allowed it to talk!'"

"But…" Jack trailed off. "We've never used the gas before? Isn't it… lying?"

"Almost every advertiser is lying to you. You learn to get used to it."

"But…" Jack stuttered. "Does he actually… have to use it?"

Knockout finally realized what Jack was even talking about, and internally rolled his optics. Though he doesn't _use _gasoline, that doesn't mean he can't stomach it - at least for a while.

"'He?'" Snakesworth guffawed. "What, the car is a person now? Of course we're not wasting our gas on this ad! It's already full if you drove here, right? No, we're just filming the car next to some conveniently placed barrels of trademarked Bingham Gasoline."

"Sounds good," Rylee said, one hand on the wheel. "Where do you want me?"

"You, bring the car to the middle of that circle over there," Snakesworth then pointed at the set. "And you," Snakesworth nodded to Jack. "Come with me. There's a few lines you gotta read."

Rylee drove Knockout towards the circle, while Snakesworth brought Jack to an open tent. Disappointment stung Knockout when he realized that while he was able to see Jack, he wouldn't be able to hear what he was saying in his name. _If they make an utter buffoon out of me, and I only find out an entire week after the ad already aired, I am going to have a conniption _.

"Knockout, chill," Rylee whispered to the wheel. "Everything's going to turn out alright." Knockout didn't even realize he was doing anything, until he noticed the jerky braking and the loud idling of his engine. _Sorry._

"Alright, step out of the car if you would, Ms. Amari," a crew member called, and Rylee stepped out of the car. Jack was now speaking lines into the microphone, a look of concern yet relief on his face. Some crew members then positioned her in the right pose, the right angle, the right smile. Cameras clicking once again, and the hum of the portable recorder rolling about the set. They had Rylee speak a few lines, some to the camera, and some right to him. The attention was shared between the two of them, though most emphasis was on Rylee. A familiar figurehead they could relate to, he supposed. A few weeks ago, he would've been furious about the attention he deserved being on someone else - a human, nonetheless. But now, he didn't mind sharing the spotlight. Not one bit.

Author's Note

Thanks everyone for reading! 2 more chapters for me to publish before the uploads on here are completely up to date! I'm taking my midterms this week so I'll probably be too busy to write/upload another chapter, but hopefully I'll get to it afterwards! Thanks again, and I appreciate every favorite and comment! :)


	16. Hot Rod - RYLEE - 14

CHAPTER 14 - POV Rylee

"Are we allowed to do this?"

"What?"

"Just… move in like this?"

Rylee looked around. They were within the NASCAR hangar, all lounging on a couch that Miko somehow managed to sneak out of her house. All except Knockout, who obviously had to sit on the floor behind them. They were all looking expectantly at a TV (courtesy of Raf), waiting for Knockout's advertisement to show up. They had all been living in the hangar for a few weeks now, and only _now _was the first time that Raf questioned the legality of it?

"I don't think they care," Rylee responded. "What are they going to do, kick us out? What else are they going to do with a hangar we technically own? Well… Bingham owns."

"I guess you're right," Raf said. "I just feel weird. None of the other racers are living in the hangars."

"Yes, because all the other racers are _adults _who aren't trying to keep their sentient car company."

"I am grateful for that," Knockout said nonchalantly.

Miko turned in her couch to face Knockout. "Wow, Knockout _grateful? _There's a first for everything."

Knockout frowned at her. "What? It's better than sitting in this dusty hanger alone for days at a time."

"You would not have stayed put," Jack said, not even bothering to look back at them. "You would have gotten bored and just left. And then we would've been in much bigger trouble."

"And you are absolutely right about that."

"Have you guys noticed that there's no racers around… at all? There hasn't been for a couple of days. Is that normal?" Raf asked, looking out the window.

"Look!" Miko yelled, pointing at the screen. In that advertisement, a red sports car similar to Knockout's previous alt-mode went tearing down a road, leaving a wake of dust. She looked back at Knockout, noticing his new white stock car form and snide expression and lowered her hand. "Nevermind. Forgot you look different now."

"Way to rub in my old alt mode. Can't you see I miss it enough?" Knockout crossed his arms. "After the championships, I need one of you to drive me to a place with a lot of expensive cars. I have to scan one again."

"And since nobody else can drive, I'm guessing that person will be me," Rylee sighed. "You realize I start college soon? I have places to be. We're lucky my mom hasn't arrived home yet and starting to get suspicious."

Knockout placed his hand over his spark - Rylee couldn't tell if it was mockingly or genuinely - or maybe both - and declared "Well, thank you for being here for me."

"About college…" Jack trailed off.

Rylee turned to him. "What about it?"

"There's a good chance our plan will get revealed... _eventually. _When that happens, you'll be added to the list of people that not only know that Cybertronians exist, but have been in extended contact with one. Agent Fowler will try to recruit you for Sector E," Jack then hesitated. "I… actually don't know if you have a choice."

"Well great, because of this I'm now being forced to join a government agency?" Rylee looked pointedly at Knockout, who was playing innocent and refused to meet her eyes.

"It's the task force that deals with new 'bots. Do you not want that? That sounds fun! Much better than a lame office job!" Miko pumped a hand in the air. "And we're the first to know if any new 'bots or 'cons show up again! Think of how many new autobots we could meet that weren't around during the war. A lot!"  
"Jazz sounded like a cool dude. I'd love to meet him one day," Jack said nonchalantly.

"Jazz was not that cool," Knockout scoffed. "Maybe a little. Not cooler than me, though."

"Prowl sounded like one of those good cop / bad cop characters from those old crime movies. I have to see him. And I also have to see Pyra Magna, and -" Miko trailed off, listing about every Cybertronian she had ever heard of - even Decepticons.

"Metroplex seemed interesting," Raf said from the window. "There's definitely no way for him to get to Earth, but I'd love to go to Cybertron to see him. I just can't comprehend something that huge existing, and speaking in symbols of light rather than words. Very cool. I'd love to learn how to become a cityspeaker."

The boatload of new names and terms washed over Rylee, and she laughed nervously. "Quite… a lot to learn. I don't think I'd be able to handle that. No, after this I'm going to forget aliens even exist and head off to college and live life as a _normal _person." Everyone was now looking at her - even Knockout, who surprisingly had an ounce of sympathy in his face.

"But that's boring! I -"

"Miko!" Jack cut off. "Look, I know it seems like a lot, but you learn as it comes around. We definitely wouldn't know this unless we spent an excessive amount of time in Ratchet's archives when waiting for Team Prime to return back to base. A new 'bot shows up on Earth, you'll get to know them quick. Trust me. Most have… very strong _personalities _, let's say."

"I still don't even know what the war was about and what happened!" Rylee hugged her knees, watching the TV. "How am I expected to become a diplomat to aliens I know nothing about?"

All three children stared at Knockout in an accusatory manner.

"What?" Knockout asked. He looked as if he hadn't been paying attention to the last ten seconds.

"You still haven't told Rylee about the war, and your part in it? That's pretty big, don't you think?" Jack slimmed his eyes at him.

"Well…" Knockout looked around, a bit more nervous than usual. "I just -"

"Look!" Miko yelled, pointing at the TV. "And for real this time!"

Jack glanced at the ad and winced. _Not a good sign. _"Sorry, buddy. I tried to stop them," he said to Knockout. Knockout's optics widened in fear.

_On-screen was Knockout, with Rylee holding a thumbs-up next to him. She had first place medals placed around her neck, and a reporter held a microphone to her face._

_"So, what's your secret?" the off-screen voice asked._

_"My secret?" Rylee laughed, the voice-over not quite lining up with her lip movement. "I don't know, why don't you ask Hot Rod?"_

"Hot Rod?" Knockout yelled, frowning at the TV. "Not only would they not give me my own name, but they had to give me the name of that… sparkling? Great, now one day when people look back, they'll think I'm _actually _Hot Rod!" Everyone shushed Knockout, and it took Rylee physically clamping his mouth shut to finally make him be quiet.

_"My secret, you ask?" Knockout's voice said, the camera now zooming in to the car. "Why, Bingham Gasoline is so potent, it absolutely brings me to life!"_

_The next few seconds were clips of Rylee and Knockout on the racetrack, and at the very end Rylee lifted up a canister of Bingham Gasoline to the camera, and both yelled "Buy Bingham Today!" The advertisement then abruptly ended, the local football game showing up on screen again._

Rylee turned to Knockout. He looked like he just ate a sour lemon.

"It wasn't that bad," Raf tilted his head.

"Yes, it was! Not only did they erase my identity, but they erased my character as well! I was… bland! I would never agree to say those lines." Knockout slimmed his optics.

"Well, it's a good thing _I _was there to say those lines," Jack beamed. "Be glad I was there to make some… _changes _to the script. They wanted you to be a sentient alien _car _from the planet 'CyTron'."

"Well, why not?!" Knockout yelled exasperatedly, pacing away from them.

"It's a bit too on-the-nose, don't you think?" Rylee questioned.

"I _don't _think," Knockout began. "What I-"

Knockout was interrupted by the sudden rustling of the hangar door. Knockout's optics widened immensely and he immediately transformed into a car. Luckily, the intruder wasn't facing Knockout when he entered the room. _We really have to start locking the door._

The 'intruder' was Charlie Snakesworth, who seemed genuinely surprised to see them there. Terrified, even. Angry?

"What are you _doing _here?!" Snakesworth yelled, dropping the clipboard he was carrying.

"We've been living here for the last couple of weeks? It's nothing new?" Miko replied, casually reclining on the couch.

"The championships start _tomorrow morning! _In _South Carolina! _" he shrieked.

Everyone was silent for a moment. "You serious?" Rylee finally said.

"_ Yes! _" Snakesworth covered his face with his hands. "Darlington Raceway. There's no way you'll be able to make it on time. You'll have to forfeit the first race."

"We can make it. Don't worry," Jack jumped up suddenly. "I know a way."

"What?" Rylee turned.

"Kid, how?" Snakesworth crossed his arms. "It takes four days to drive across the country. There are expensive cargo jets that _may _be able to make it on time, but they're doubtless all full by now."

"Yeah, wait, what's your plan?" Rylee asked again.

"Just… trust me," Jack held up his hands. "We'll be there."

Snakesworth's piercingly stared at Jack for a few moments, before breaking down in laugher. "I'm sorry kid, the only way you'll make it is if you have a _teleporter _. That doesn't _exist _. What are you going to do, break into Area 51? Hijack some alien technology? Get real, kid. You won't make it. But you're welcome to try." His smile fell suddenly, and he walked back out of the hangar, starting to swing the door closed. "I'll be back tomorrow morning, and then we'll discuss the legal implications of you not following the rules in the contract - one of which is _show up to the races." _He then slammed the door shut, the noise reverberating across the pipe steel frame of the hangar.

"Well, this _sucks _," Knockout said glumly, still in car form.

"Yeah, Jack, what are you talking about?" Rylee turned to him.

Jack looked at all of them, in his eyes a hint of both dread and excitement. "This is probably a _really _bad idea. And we'll probably be caught. But it's better than not trying, right? And losing anyways?"

Confusion was evident on everyone's faces, including Knockout, who had recently turned back into robot mode.

"I… guess?" Rylee said. "I draw the line at being arrested, though."

"You realize you could be arrested for pretending a robot alien car is a normal car, right?" Raf said. "Actually, for even associating yourself with a robot alien car, period?"

"Forget all that," Jack waved them all away. "You won't get_ arrested _for this. In trouble with the government? Maybe. But definitely not nearly as much trouble as Knockout will be in."

"Me? Why?" Knockout groaned, crouching down.

"Because we actually do have a teleporter," Jack said, with a gleam in his eye. "The only thing is, it's being guarded by a grumpy old medic whose name rhymes with 'Batchet'." Jack smirked. "Looks like we'll be breaking into a government base for alien technology after all."


	17. Overridden - JACK - 15

Chapter 15 - POV Jack

Jack gingerly opened the door to Hangar E, half expecting a skeptical Ratchet to be contained within. They falsified an Autobot distress signal using the remains of Knockout's deactivated tracker, hoping that Ratchet would head off after it. Currently, it was hidden on a large U-HAUL truck carrying items hopefully halfway across the country. Or it could be carrying things only to the next county - in which case, they had to hurry. Thankfully, Ratchet was no longer in the hangar.

"All clear," Jack spoke into his phone, strolling inside. In a few seconds Knockout and the others joined him, Knockout dropping them off and then transforming and closing the hangar door once more.

"We were supposed to be _stealthy _and _Miko _wouldn't stop talking," Knockout complained. "Is there an off button for her?"

"You're just jealous I can talk as much as I want," Miko stuck out her tongue. "You're stuck pretending like you're not even alive." She then shrugged, "Besides. There wasn't anyone around."

"I know, but that doesn't mean_ I _want to hear you talk. I frankly don't _care _about the history of the Seekers."

Jack turned to Rylee, expecting her to interrupt their fighting as usual to get them back on track, but she was too busy looking around in wonder. Amazement in her eyes, she looked around at every structure before finally focusing on a control panel. Jack looked around as well. He had spent so much time here that he had forgotten it wasn't a normal everyday place. From the large space bridge portal on the wall to Ratchet's various inventions laying around, it was certainly more Cybertronian than usual. And given Rylee's low exposure to Cybertronian things and ordeals, he could see how the room could be a bit shocking.

"You're telling me that's a… teleporter?" Rylee pointed to the space bridge looming high above her. "You're telling me I could go to Cybertron right now?"

Knockout turned from his argument with Miko, who was now crossing her arms, and hesitantly stated "I wouldn't recommend that. Humans and Cybertron don't mix very well."

"Yeah!" Miko kicked his foot, and Knockout looked down at her lazily. "You tried to kill me by dumping me on Cybertron!"

"Okay first off," Knockout growled, quickly nervously glancing at Rylee, "Those were _orders _. There was no way the autobots were going to let you die and we knew that." He bent down and frowned at her. "And second of all, if you keep it up, I'll do it again."

"He's kidding," Raf said simply, walking past them both towards the monitor. "Where exactly are we landing for the space bridge? Right next to the raceway? Maybe somewhere more obscure like the forest?"

Miko was still scowling at him, but Knockout was ignoring Miko. "Mud on my tires? But I just cleaned them," Knockout sighed. "Choose the forest if you must, but -" Something caught his eye, apparently fascinated by one of Ratchet's inventions. "Is that… a copy of my energon prod?" A smile lit up his face as he walked toward a lance laying on a table. His smile somewhat fell as he lifted it up. "A bit… smaller than usual."

"But knowing Ratchet's need to improve, I'm betting it packs more of a punch," Jack said, walking beside Raf.

"Hmm." Knockout said, analyzing it. He then knelt down in front of Rylee and held it out to her. "Okay. Here's your job. Go by the door and hide behind some of the boxes, and if you see Ratchet walk in and start reprimanding us, just shock him with this."

Rylee unsurely held her hands out and Knockout dropped the item, the weight of it almost pulling Rylee to the floor. But she barely held the enormous lance up. "What makes you think that'll work? I can't even hold it!" she grunted, trying to drag it to the boxes. "I don't know what Ratchet looks like!"

"Big. White. I don't know any other giant robots here on Earth, so it's a good bet that _any _robot that enters this room is probably Ratchet." Knockout said nonchalantly. Rylee was still trying to drag the object across the floor when Raf climbed onto the table full of Ratchet's inventions.

"Maybe instead of handing her the largest lance, maybe you'd try handing her the smallest?" Raf said, holding up an item slightly larger than a taser.

Knockout bent down and squinted his eyes. "That's a weapon? Looked more like one of your kind's toothpicks." Rylee dropped the prod on the floor and deeply exhaled, looking up at Raf.

"Knockout, would you _please _pass me the human-sized lance from Raf?" Rylee breathed.

He picked up the small lance with two digits, making a sour face at it while lowering it down to Rylee.

"_ Thank _you," she said, moving to the crates again. "Now I just need to figure out how to work it…"

"Okay, are we leaving yet?" Jack asked, glancing at the space bridge monitor again. "We could've been gone by now, instead of worrying what we'll do if we're caught here for too long."

"Hey, she can use it if we run into any Decepticons," Knockout pointed out.

"Oh, so she'll be using it against you, KO?" Miko asked.

"For the last time," Knockout rolled his eyes, "I'm an _Autobot _. Even Arcee says so."

"Doesn't change the past," Jack shrugged, and Rylee looked around the corner. She looked like she was about to speak when urgent beeping suddenly emanated from the space bridge console. Jack recognized that noise.

"What is that?" Rylee asked from afar, still trying to figure out how to use the prod.

"Space bridge request from Cybertron," Raf said, focusing on the console. The three children looked uneasily between each other.

"Okay," Jack said, and Miko ran over to where they were all standing. "It could be one of Team Prime finally visiting us after all this time. Or it's generic reinforcements from Cybertron to help Ratchet with the distress signal. Either way, we can't accept. We'll all be caught here red-handed," Jack spoke lowly. The console kept beeping, the "accept" and "decline" buttons pulsing on the screen. Raf eyed the console.

"Decline, then?" Raf said, raising a hand.

Jack nodded, and Miko looked down somberly. He understood what she was upset about. They'd been waiting months to see just one member of Team Prime, and they decide to visit at the one time they'd given up waiting for them.

As Raf was about to push "Decline", a new bright message popped up on the screen and the beeping stopped, accompanied by the sound of the space bridge powering up.

"What? What happened?" Jack yelled, looking at the console. The message was in Cybertronian. The more Jack looked at it, however, the more he could make out the words.

The message read "SPACE BRIDGE REQUEST OVERRIDE APPROVED; ADMIN: CYBERTRON'S ELITE GUARD - SPACE BRIDGE LOCATION: IACON TO EARTH BASE PRIME - STAND BACK, SPACE BRIDGE POWERING UP." _Overridden by the Elite Guard?_

"Knockout, hide! It's the Elite Guard!" Jack yelled, and Knockout's optics went wide. For once, he saw an ounce of genuine fear in his eyes. But before Knockout could move, a lone red white and blue bot sauntered through the space bridge - and he was quite familiar as well.

"Hey Ratch, how's it doing?" Smokescreen said, dully beaming with his eyes closed. "Love being back! The Guard sent me, and I'm actually looking for Knockout. You know where he - ?" Smokescreen suddenly went silent, and his smile fell. He finally focused on the figure in the room and realized it was not Ratchet, but instead a rather sheepish Knockout. He then took in the three other humans in the room as well. The space bridge closed behind him, and everyone was silent for a few moments, an evident frown of confusion on Smokescreen's face. Finally, he spoke.

"Oh. Wow. Okay, my job either got a whole lot easier, or a whole lot harder."

Author's Note

Hey everyone! I'm finally up to date with where I am on ao3, so waits between chapters will be longer now (because I have to Write the chapter as opposed to just porting it from the other website), sorry! On the other hand, I'm really excited to continue writing, because it's finally getting to the good parts :)

Thanks so much for reading and for all the nice comments! They genuinely bring a smile to my face and I look forward to reading them!


	18. Two Weeks - KNOCKOUT - 16

CHAPTER 16 - POV Knockout

Well _this _certainly wasn't good. Not at all.

Knockout sheepishly grinned at Smokescreen. "How's it hanging, S-Screen?"

Smokescreen still looked confused, probably wondering how and why the _superlative _kids of 'Team Prime' would collaborate with the likes of him. Seeing Smokescreen's hesitation, Jack quickly turned toward Knockout.

"Did you lie to us? Did you sneak your way to Earth even though you're not allowed to be here? And then we've been _helping _you sneak around?" Jack growled.

"No, Knockout was allowed to be here," Smokescreen finally said. "Emphasis on _was _." Smokescreen tilted his head in a puzzled manner. "What I don't understand is why you're _here _. Right now. In this room. I thought I'd have to hunt you down." Smokescreen then dejectedly crossed his arms. "I was actually looking forward to a vacation on Earth."

"Woah, Smokey, are you back with the Elite Guard?" Miko jumped up, suddenly realizing. "Are you officially a member? Man, we missed so much!"

"Yes! I'm officially Elite Guard material! No more boot camp and guard duty, and hello complete membership!" Smokescreen pumped his fist in the air. "I guess being on Team Prime really did have its perks. Also, like, being one of the very few surviving members of the Elite Guard has got to count for something too." He smiled until a wave of confusion washed over him. "Wait, you guys never explained what you're doing here with Knockout. And where's Ratchet?"

"Am I in trouble?" Knockout blurted out, leaning against the wall. "What did I do? Or should I say… what do _you _think I did?"

"Well for one, we haven't heard an update from Ratchet about you in weeks. He seems to have forgotten you were even on Earth, which seemed fishy to the Guard. Not so much to me though, because I mean he's not the _best _at babysitting duty."

"He called you a baby," Miko giggled at Knockout, and he rolled his optics.

"Okay. Well, I'm here. I'm alive. Ratchet is not presently here... but alive! You can go home now right?" Knockout grinned at him.

"Mmm. No. Sorry," Smokescreen shrugged. "My orders were to find you and detain you. Even though it might not be your fault that Ratchet forgot to update Cybertron on your condition, you _were _given explicit orders to be back in two weeks."

Raf turned to Knockout, "It's been a lot longer than two weeks."

"Thanks for telling me, Perceptor," Knockout sighed, then looked up at Raf. "Sorry."

"So… uh… if I don't ask what's been going on, will you come with me calmly? And not have to use the stasis cuffs?"

Knockout held a hand up. "I… can't do that. I'm kind of needed here. Well more specifically, at another location in around six hours."

Smokescreen frowned and crossed his arms. "Okay, will someone please explain what's going on? I personally hate being out of the loop. I won't even tell the Guard, if that's what it takes."

Knockout, Jack, Raf and Miko all exchanged glances with each other, and then all stared at Smokescreen with wide eyes, saying nothing.

"Okay, that's it," Smokescreen huffed, taking the stasis cuffs off a hook on his hip. "Sorry buddy, but I have to take you back. If I don't I'll lose my job. Maybe you can explain it better when you're on_trial _in front of the _council. _"

Before Knockout could even reply, however, Smokescreen suddenly tensed up and buzzed, as if he was electrocuted. He then passed out and fell face-first on the floor, immobile. Behind Smokescreen's body stood Rylee, gingerly hugging the energon prod.

"Rylee!?" Jack yelled, running up to the unconscious Smokescreen. He was out cold.

"What?" Rylee yelled back. "What was I supposed to do? Knockout told me to prod any giant robots that came in here!" She then ran up to Smokescreen's face, inspecting it. "Is this Ratchet? I wasn't really listening, I was too busy trying to figure out how to turn this thing on." She held up the energon prod.

"Ha!" Knockout laughed. "I don't know how Ratchet would feel, comparing him to Smokescreen. No, that's not Ratchet. But you did good."

"Well what are we supposed to do with him now?" Jack said, trying to take Smokescreen's pulse before realizing it was impossible to do so.

"Take him with us," Raf said simply, and everyone turned toward him skeptically. "Bring him through the space bridge, put him in his own stasis cuffs. Either keep him locked up in the hangar until the end, or maybe he'll join us! He said it himself, he was looking forward to a vacation. What's more of a vacation? Elite Guard probably isn't expecting him back in weeks."

"You're expecting him to lie about his mission? To turn against what the Elite Guard stands for?" Jack raised an eyebrow.

"He's still just a kid," Miko shrugged. "He just wants to have fun, just like us. He may have a lot more responsibilities, but if he can skirt around that for a while… well… why not?"

"I think instead of debating the morality of Smokescreen's theoretical decision to join our party, we should _get out of here before Ratchet arrives. _" Knockout turned around.

"Oh! Right," Raf said, running back up to the console.

"I'd prefer if he didn't join us. He's too annoying for my taste. Too _obnoxious _. He was a race car before I ever was. And that phase shifter of his! Can you believe he trapped me in the wall?" Knockout raised his voice, before suddenly getting an idea. He then knelt down and started searching Smokescreen.

"Trapped… in a wall?" Rylee questioned. "You know what, I'm not going to ask." She put the energon prod through a loop of her belt. "You'll have to tell me more about him later. You seemed very friendly to him a couple of minutes ago, though. And what are you doing?"

"Of course I was friendly to him! If I made him angry he could just call the whole Elite Guard on me!" He then detached a communicator from Smokescreen's wrist. "Speaking of. Here it is." Knockout half-transformed and threw the communicator into the seat of the car, and then transformed back to a robot.

"And that is?" Rylee asked, as Knockout still searched Smokescreen.

"Said device that will call in the Elite Guard. We're good to go for a kidnapping now."

"That sounds… really bad," Jack said, still frowning.

"Yeah, KO, what is this, your fifth kidnapping?" Miko said. "June, Fowler, me, Jack's fr-"

"Primus save me. Those didn't _count _." Knockout let Smokescreen's body fall back onto the floor, and a loud clanging echoed. "Well that was utterly disappointing. He doesn't have his phase shifter."

"Doubt they'd let normal people wield Iacon relics outside of wartime, but okay," Jack turned to Raf. "Okay we have to go. _Now. _Ratchet will probably be here soon, or a guard, and we have no clue when Smokescreen's going to wake up. We also have to find a way to sneak him into the hangar."

"One space bridge, ready," Raf said, pressing a few buttons. The machine whirred up, and within a few seconds the familiar blue and green portal appeared.

The humans all hopped to the front of the space bridge, before looking expectantly at Knockout.

"What?" Knockout asked. "Do I have a scratch on my face?" They all nodded to Smokescreen, who was still passed out on the floor. Knockout exaggeratedly groaned. "I have to _carry _him? Do I _look _like a porter?" He sighed again before grabbing Smokescreen by the feet and dragging him, a screeching noise emanating within the hangar. There were definitely scratches left on the floor.

"How does this work?" Rylee asked cautiously, a few feet away from the bridge.

"You just step on. It's fine! Look, it's solid!" Miko danced within the space bridge. Rylee still wouldn't budge, fear of the strange swirling portal evident in her eyes. He almost forgot that space bridges weren't a known thing on Earth.

"Here. Climb on," Knockout held his hand out. Rylee, choosing the familiar hand over the strange new technology, stepped on.

He raised her to his shoulder and dropped her on, and she gripped for her life.

"How is this supposed to make it better?" She yelled, one hand on his shoulder and one hand on his face, which he tried to shake off.

"Well, for one, you can't run away now," Knockout smiled, and Rylee slimmed her eyes at him before almost losing balance again and yelping. "Hang on tight, because I also have to drag along _this_sparkling." Knockout grabbed Smokescreen's foot again and dragged, with Rylee holding on for dear life. The others discreetly laughed at her terror, which she didn't find so funny. But despite her bad attitude, Knockout could see her somewhat smiling in amazement at this new perspective. And with Smokescreen in tow, they stepped through the space bridge, toward the championship, and one step closer to their grand finale.


	19. Smokescreen, Shackled - SMOKESCREEN - 17

Chapter 17 - POV Smokescreen

Smokescreen blinked awake, his vision still cloudy, trying to make out the figures in the dark room. _Where was he? _Morning sunshine threatened to spill through shutters clamped on the wall, and he could see the silhouettes of a few humans. Smokescreen squinted. _Familiar _humans.

"Uhh, Jack, Raf, Miko, where am I?" Smokescreen cautiously asked, trying to move before realizing that clamped on his arms were stasis cuffs, which were also attached to the sturdy steel supports of the roof. _What? _Smokescreen slightly turned and then laid eyes on the one and only Knockout, who seemed to have the faintest trace of a smirk. Everything came racing back to him, then.

"Oh, Knockout, you're in so much trouble!" Smokescreen yelled, dangling from the handcuffs and trying to kick at Knockout - and failing.

"Shhh!" everyone hissed at once, and without knowing why, Smokescreen immediately fell silent.

"Why am I here?" Smokescreen seethed. "How did I get here? Why do I have to be quiet?"

"You have to be quiet because there's unsuspecting humans right outside this metal wall!" Jack stepped forward, and Smokescreen could now make him out clearly. He went silent, optics widening.

"What?!" Smokescreen hissed. "Can I ask again why we're here?" He tried to kick at Knockout again. "Knockout, I always knew you, out of everyone, would probably be the first to expose us to the public. Someone's gonna walk in and find us having a conversation, and I can't even turn into a car because I'm chained to the ceiling!" he cried. "You know what would happen to me if I get caught? I get kicked outta the Elite Guard! Maybe worse!"

"Smokey, chill," Miko said, stepping forward and laying a hand on his foot. "Nobody's gonna come in here. We locked the doors. We're basically professionals at this by now."

"At what?" Smokescreen asked, wanting to kick at Knockout again but was stopped by Miko's hand. "Still haven't told me _where I am _."

"Okay, Smokescreen, sorry it's come to this, but you've got two options," Jack said, looking up at him.

Smokescreen tilted his head in confusion. "Which are?"

"Either work with us, or stay chained up here until we're done."

Smokescreen gasped in surprise. "That… sounds evil. Are you all evil now?" Smokescreen shook Miko from his foot, who fell backwards. "Who are you working for? MECH? The Decepticons? I'll never join you!" he yelled.

"Shut up, you sparkling," Knockout finally groaned. "If you're any more melodramatic, the humans will be wondering what's going on in here."

"Says the king of drama!" Smokescreen shot back, while the group chastised Knockout for speaking. The one speaking most familiarly to him was a brown haired girl he'd never seen before, and looked to be the oldest of the bunch._ Really hoping she knew about Cybertronians _before _Knockout came to Earth, or he'll be in much more trouble._

"What was I supposed to do?" Knockout spoke back to the girl, holding his arms out in frustration. "He's irritating me and we need to hurry up and get to the point."

"Knockou-" the girl raised her voice, but was cut off by Knockout speaking to Smokescreen.

"Smokes, you want to know what's going on here? Here it is," Knockout said, booping Smokescreen between the optics. Smokescreen frowned and tried to kick him again, but Knockout dodged once more.

"We've infiltrated NASCAR. I've changed my alt mode to a race car and the Team Prime kids plus Rylee are my crew. We got a corporation to sponsor us. Nobody suspects I'm anything but a car." At that, Knockout seemed to hesitantly rethink what he had just said, but then shook it off and continued. "We're in the championships now. We had to use Ratchet's space bridge to get to South Carolina in time. And I can _win _this race, if I only had more time. I can't be sent back, not when I'm this close. I'll take any and all responsibility after the championships are over, and I've won." Knockout looked relieved getting the entire story off his chest.

"And," Knockout said, raising a single digit and smiling mischievously, "If I'm ever somehow unable to race, you can take my place. You're a race car, right? Wouldn't you love to… you know… officially_race _?"

Everyone nervously smiled at Smokescreen, who was still frowning. _Were they serious? _As the seconds dragged on everyone grew more antsy for a reply, and Knockout's expression became more of a wince. At last, Smokescreen's frown curled up into a smile, his eyes filled with excitement.

"NASCAR?!" Smokescreen yelled gleefully, jumping into the air. "How come nobody would tell me that? I would've joined you all the way back at the space bridge!"

Everyone let out a sigh of relief, and Raf finally stepped forward. "Wait, you would have?"

"As you guys would put it, 'Hell yeah!'" Smokescreen smiled. "I've always wanted to do something like this. But Autobot mantra obviously stopped me."

Knockout's smile slightly wavered. "I broke Autobot mantra?"

"I mean, obviously," Smokescreen laughed. "But I'll only join you guys if you swear I won't take the fall for it, and can take Knockout back to Cybertron the second the race is over." Smokescreen tilted his head. "Otherwise, leave me locked up here, but I can't say you won't get in trouble once I'm free."

Knockout skeptically raised an optic ridge at him. "Wow, I didn't think you'd actually go for it. You… actually serious?"

Smokescreen was now swinging from his stasis cuffs rather than trying to kick Knockout. "Yes, I'm serious? Why propose it to me if you don't expect me to actually say yes? You _will _win first place, right?"

"Smokescreen," Jack said cautiously. "Not to dunk on you… but… you have _got _to be the most irresponsible Elite Guard member."

"What? Just because I'm racing?" Smokescreen pouted. "It's not hurting anyone, right?"

"I don't think Optimus would agree with that," Jack said behind his hand.

"But! -" Knockout interrupted loudly. "Optimus has always said to immerse yourself with Earth's culture, and we're doing just that!" Knockout stood up straight and cheekily smiled, pointing up in the air. "So I think it's a win in the Autobot book!" They all hesitantly glanced at Knockout, and Jack discreetly shook his head. Knockout knelt down and scowled at Jack. "Whose side are you on?" he harshly whispered.

"It's not that it's just… the moral ambiguity of the situation. Also we have to make sure Smokescreen's completely on board." Jack shrugged.

"I'm _on board _, guys" Smokescreen rolled his optics. "Honestly, haven't I already spoken to you all about wanting to do this exact thing behind Optimus' back?"

Miko looked in deep contemplation. "So _that's _where I got the idea!"

"Well, can we get him down now?" Raf asked, looking up. "I think the roof is starting to cave in." They looked up and sure enough, the metal bars that Smokescreen was stasis locked to and supporting his weight were starting to collapse.

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Knockout said, reaching up to undo them, before pausing. "Uhh… I realize I don't _know _the unlock combination."

Smokescreen looked down dejectedly. "Promise if I tell you, you won't laugh."

"I can't promise that," Knockout said smugly. "But what else are you going to do, _not _tell me and stay locked up here?"

"Fine," Smokescreen said, still looking down. "Smokimus Prime."

Knockout wheezed as he inputted the code. "I don't know where to begin with that. First of all, that's such an _awful _name. Second, people _actually _dream of being a Prime? With all that responsibility? No thanks!" The stasis cuffs clicked off, and Smokescreen landed on the floor, free from his shackles. "Third -"

Knockout wanted to continue his list, but was cut short by an uppercut of Smokescreen's fist making direct contact with his face.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading! I really appreciate any and all comments, and I have another chapter already written and coming very soon! Sorry for the wait!


	20. Cybertronian Secrets - RYLEE - 18

CHAPTER 18 - POV RYLEE 

"Really? That's the best you could think of? Your reason for decking me in the face is 'This is for trapping me in a wall and shocking me. And for being a Decepticon.' I didn't even _ shock _ you." Knockout looked as if he were massaging his jaw - if robots even had jaws, Rylee supposed.

"That was an _ hour _ago. You really still worked up over it?" Smokescreen sighed, rearranging the crates in the hangar.

"It _ hurt _," Knockout murmured, transforming back to vehicle mode and checking his paint job in the mirror.

They didn't have long until the first championship race, and they were preparing in every way possible. Mostly it was just Rylee buffing Knockout's coat, since there weren't much tune-ups you could give a Cybertronian. If Knockout's excessive vanity weren't exasperating enough, in his short time here Smokescreen had also already shown off his incredible knack for talking, and his amazingly short attention span.

"A little to the left," Knockout instructed Rylee, who was going over him with a buffer.

"I _ know _ what I'm doing. You act like I've never had a car before. Have you forgotten that I literally win first place at all of those road races? But _ noo _, once I get a sentient self-driving car, all my skills just go out the window." Rylee continued buffering in silence for a few seconds, before sighing. "Sorry. I'm just a little tense right now."

"No, I should say sorry," Knockout said quietly. "I should've trusted you by now."

"Okay," Smokescreen interrupted, something obviously on his mind. "But if you didn't shock me, who did?" Smokescreen dropped the crate and put his hands on his hips.

"Can't say. The attacker is under the witness protection program." Knockout said nonchalantly.

"Uh…" Smokescreen said hesitantly. "Wait, that's an actual thing here on Earth. I learned about that. Are they _ actually? _" Smokescreen looked extremely confused.

"No, Smokescreen," Knockout said dully. "It was a joke. Rylee did it."

"Knockout!" Rylee yelled, dropping the buffer.

"You?" Smokescreen leaned down, throwing Rylee a skeptical glance.

Rylee raised her arms. "I'm sorry! Please don't hurt me!"

Smokescreen quickly backed up. "Woah, woah, who do you think I am? A Decepticon? I would never hurt you, I'm actually sworn to _ protect _ you no matter what."

"Oh," Rylee said simply, picking up the buffer again. "Well, you can understand the confusion, right? I mean, you did deck Knockout in the face."

"Yeah," Smokescreen. "But Knockout equals Decepticon, so it's okay."

Knockout quickly transformed back to robot mode and angrily stood in front of Smokescreen. "How many times do I have to say it? How many times do I have to prove myself? I'm not a Decepticon. I'm an_ Autobot _. I have the certification and everything. I passed the exams, and fought with you on the battlefield. Why is it so hard for you all to trust me?"

Smokescreen glared back at Knockout, when Rylee broke the silence. "_ I _ trust you, Knockout. But if I'm going to be honest, I still don't know what a Decepticon even is."

Smokescreen surprisedly glanced at a cheeky Knockout, mouthing _ "What?" _

"Knockout, I forgot to ask, _ where _ did you find this girl?" Smokescreen crossed his arms.

"I saved her life," Knockout replied curtly.

"And now she's your NASCAR driver. Does she even know _ who _ she's been hanging out with? Who you truly are? What you've done?" Smokescreen raised his voice.

"_ Smokescreen… _" Knockout said warningly, and Rylee looked between the two of them. Smokescreen then turned to Rylee.

"You want to know who the Decepticons are?" he said. "Who Knockout is? I'll tell you. It all started with the Great War, when the Decepticons were founded by a genocidal warlord named Meg-" Knockout clasped a hand over his mouth, and Smokescreen widened his optics in surprise. He then shook off Knockout. "Get off! What's your problem?"

"My problem is -" Knockout then looked down at Rylee, who was quizzically looking back up at them. "Come with me. We need to have a private conversation," Knockout said to Smokescreen, leading him to the edge of the hangar.

That was the moment Jack, Raf, and Miko arrived back in the hangar, armed to the teeth with snacks from the concession stands. Rylee walked over to greet them, but also mostly to attempt to eavesdrop on the robots' conversation.

"Hey! Watcha guys up to?" Miko skipped over to them, and Knockout looked down in an irritated manner.

"Trying to have a conversation. Would you _ leave _?" Knockout said sternly.

"What's it about?" she asked, stuffing her face with popcorn.

"None of your business, Miko, _ please _ leave? I said please," he responded.

"Fine," she said, pretending to leave: when in reality she snuck next to Rylee, who was hiding behind the nearest crate. "You're trying to eavesdrop too?" Miko asked.

"Yeah," Rylee whispered. "I'm pretty sure they're talking about me."

"You? Why?" Miko raised an eyebrow.

"What's going on here?" Raf asked loudly with Jack trailing behind him, unaware they were trying to hide.

"_ Raf! _" Miko hissed, but it was no use.

"You know we're quite aware you've been there the entire time. We have infrared scanners, you know." Knockout said impatiently.

"Yeah, then why can't you tell us what your problem is?" Miko hopped out from behind the crate.

"You know what?" Knockout said exasperatedly. "You're making me bring out the Cybertronian. I didn't want to, but there's no other way you all will leave me alone." Knockout then began speaking to Smokescreen in a completely foreign language, one Rylee had never heard in her life. Smokescreen seemed to understand, though, because he responded in the same language.

"No, not Cybertronian!" Miko groaned. "How do I eavesdrop now? It's not like they have Cybertronian on Google Translate."

"If Ratchet were here he'd probably try to teach us," Raf said, walking up to them.

Miko turned excitedly. "That's it! One of Ratchet's books taught me some Cybertronian a while back! I only know how to read some of it, but if I listen, maybe I can make out some of the words!"

"Miko -" Jack said, but was cut off.

"Shh. I'm shifting into Cybertronian Listening Mode." Miko shut her eyes, raising her ear toward their conversation. Rylee wasn't sure how much she'd be able to pick up, but it seemed it was the mannerisms in which they spoke that mattered most. Smokescreen looked accusatory, almost incredulous, while Knockout spoke softly, looking almost vulnerable. Knockout glanced at her again, and quickly looked back at Smokescreen.

"Why does he keep looking at me? What's he saying?" Rylee asked Miko, who still seemed to be deeply focused.

"Umm…" Miko said, opening her eyes. "I may have been exaggerating when I said I knew Cybertronian. I was only able to pick up 'girl' and 'the'."

"Girl?" Rylee asked. "Me? You? Why is he talking about either of us?"

Miko shrugged, and then a sly smile split across her face.

"What? What is it?" Rylee asked.

"Nothing. A theory. I'll tell you in a month," she said cheekily, and Rylee sighed. Her phone then started buzzing, and she grabbed it out of her pocket. _ The alarm for the race! It's starting soon! _

"Sorry to break up the talk," Rylee said, walking up to them both, "but we really have to go to the race _ now. _ " Knockout looked down at her, and Smokescreen wouldn't meet her eyes. He narrowly walked past her, the drift of air almost knocking her off balance, and a chill went down her spine. As if having one giant robot around wasn't intimidating enough, now there were _ two _? What's next, a plane too?

"I don't agree with your decision," Smokescreen said somberly, transforming into car mode. "But you'll have to live with the consequences."

"What was that about?" Rylee asked as Knockout transformed to vehicle mode as well, but he was silent. He popped open the door to the driver's seat, as Miko and Raf worked on opening the hangar.

Rylee sat down and buckled up, deciding to not prod him for information he wasn't willing to share. "You ready to win a race?" Knockout said limply.

"We can't _ win _ or they'll get suspicious, you know this," Rylee tiredly smiled. She then yawned. "And given that we've been up for 24 hours since we spent the whole night trying to steal the space bridge and then stealing Smokescreen, I'm really hoping you guys don't need sleep as much as we do."

"Oh, we do!" Knockout said in a strangely excited way. "But don't worry! I won't die."

"Die?" Rylee asked incredulously. "There's a chance of that?"

"No," Knockout responded. "Well, yes, but only after a few weeks." Miko and Raf finally got the hangar door open, and sunlight poured in. Knockout then drove through the entryway, as Rylee blinked to adjust her eyes. People were hurrying around all over the place, and multiple cars were making their way toward the photo op. In the far distance, Rylee could see thousands of people in the audience of the stadium, and if her eyesight wasn't deceiving her, most were dressed in the color of Knockout.

"Looks like we have fans," Rylee smiled.

"It looks like we do," Knockout replied amusedly, as they drew nearer to the track. "Now let's show them what we can do."


	21. No Past Nor Future - KNOCKOUT - 19

CHAPTER 19 - POV Knockout 

Earlier that day was a blur to Knockout. Cameras were constantly flashing, and while excessive attention certainly boosted his ego, the embarrassing Q&A with "Hot Rod" (as he was known as) lowered it by the same amount. He made a fool of himself answering questions like "Where are you from?" and "How did you meet Rylee?", trying to find answers that were somewhat believable but obviously untrue. And as Raf later pointed out, was completely different from the backstory given to him in the advertisement. He never wanted to do that again. Rylee agreed with him. His mood lifted though when he entered the track, greeted with thousands of signs cheering for Rylee and 'Hot Rod', most in the audience clothed in his white paint scheme. It was the best race he'd ever had. Despite getting seventh place. _ Correction: _ being _ forced _ to get seventh place. Knockout's reminiscing was interrupted by Smokescreen's bellows.

"Hot dog? Are you guys eating… _ dogs _?" Smokescreen asked, bewildered. "I thought they were kept as... pets?" They were all atop a ridge within the local forest, far enough from civilization that nobody could see them, yet still had a stunning view; The city down below faded into blinking silhouettes as the sun melted into the horizon. Rylee was seated on Knockout's shoulder, both grinning stupidly, as Jack attempted to cook hot dogs on a grill. Raf, having just started a campfire, was sitting on a log contentedly watching Jack's efforts. Smokescreen sat in a pile of leaves, scratching his head, and Miko was beside him with a mischievous smile on her face.

"HA!" Miko yelled. "You owe me $5, Raf. I told you he'd actually say it. It doesn't just happen in movies, folks!"

Smokescreen looked confusedly at them both and Raf sighed. "Miko, I never agreed to an actual bet with real money. I just let you know my opinion."

"Which was?" Smokescreen asked, looking almost betrayed.

"I'm… sorry, Smokescreen, but I genuinely thought you knew what hot dogs were made of," Raf replied.

"I know what _ dogs _ are," Smokescreen pouted. "Is that not enough?"

"Of course it's enough, Smokescreen," Miko laughed. "I'm sure it's more than what Knockout knows." Rylee patted the shoulder of an offended-looking Knockout.

"For your information, _ Miko _, I know what a dog is." Knockout crossed his arms and looked away from them. "I've almost run them over multiple times."

"Knockout!" Rylee smacked him on the shoulder now.

"What? I was racing!" Knockout held his arms out. "It's not like they were humans."

"New rule, Knockout. If I'm going to ride with you, there won't be the killing of _ anything _." Rylee slimmed her eyes at him.

"Hey! I haven't killed anything! I said _ almost _, remember?" Knockout shrugged, almost knocking Rylee off balance.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I'm interrupting," Smokescreen interjected. "But you guys still haven't answered what a hot dog is made of. _ Dog? _"

"No, Smokescreen, they're made from beef. Cows. Or other meats like Turkey, or sometimes no meat at all, if it's vegan. But never dog," Jack said distractedly, taking the hot dogs off the grill. "And they're all ready, by the way." Jack looked up at Smokescreen and the Knockout. "I'd offer you guys one… but…"

"No thanks," Knockout said. "I'm vegan."

Every single person in the area squinted at him as he stood there with a shit-eating grin, unaffected.

"Where did you even learn that word?" Rylee asked finally. "Robots can't possibly be vegans, right?" she whispered to Jack behind her hand.

"No, they can't." Jack raised a major eyebrow at Knockout, crossing his arms. "Rylee is right. Where… and why?"

"You know..." Knockout said with a dumb smile, indicating he didn't mean a single word he's saying. "If you think about it… All Transformers are vegan. No animals were harmed in the making of energon, right? Boom. Cybertron leads the vegan club."

"'No animals were harmed'? PFFT!" Miko laughed. "Can you really still say that after Decepticons have destroyed environments and leveled human cities in search for said energon?"

Knockout raised his index finger, not expecting that kind of reaction to his simple joke. "You raise a fair point."

"Decepticons do that?" Rylee whispered to Knockout. He was glad the others hadn't heard, or else he'd be put under the spotlight once more. Mostly for not telling her the whole truth. But how could he? She would hate him. He couldn't. Not yet.

"Some," Knockout responded quietly. "Not all."

"Food's ready!" Jack raised passed out a paper plate with a hot dog to each of the humans in their squad, and then raised his plate in the air with a grin. "A toast - we're celebrating Rylee and Knockout getting seventh place!"

Everyone mockingly cheered - including Rylee - as Knockout rolled his optics.

"You know I could've gotten first. But of course, we had to make it look like a 'fair contest'." Knockout blew a raspberry. "I say we ditch that and win! Like I originally planned to! I'd leave all those losers in the dust!"

"Pipe down, Knockout," Rylee said. "Last couple of races you can really cut loose. I'd say leave first place until the last one, though. It's an 'underdog wins' kind of story, then." Jack looked between the two, a strange expression on his face, and Rylee frowned. "What is it?"

"It's just…" Jack uneasily kicked a rock. "Was just reminded of the extent of our own deception. We're selling a lie to the masses. We can make up whatever we want."

"What? You want me to tell the truth?" Knockout tilted his head. "I'd love to! But within the hour Sector E would be knocking down our door and the world in chaos over an alien invasion. Fun!"

"No, don't do _ that _… it's just the fact that we're doing this at all." Jack finally looked up, with a brighter expression this time. "But hey! We're already doing it. No time to look back. May as well win!"

"Cheers to that!" Miko yelled, raising her hot dog in the air, and Smokescreen smiled.

In a few minutes Raf had his portable stereo working, and music radiated around the campfire as they all cheerfully conversed with one another. In a few minutes Raf had his portable stereo working, and music radiated around the campfire as they all cheerfully conversed with one another. They were currently in 'Phoenix Ark' as they'd taken to calling it. A very rarely frequented national park nearby the stadium named "Phoenix Park" - except the second 'P' had fallen off the sign long ago and had since been retaken by the wilderness. _Phoenix Ark._ Miko was very adamant about the renaming. Knockout smiled blissfully, zoning out and looking to the cities in the distance. Trees partially obstructed the view, but it was a sight to behold. The way the buildings spiraled into the air and how the light reflected off the glass panes, he was reminded of back home. But back home was missing their cultural forms of architecture, and as much as he hated it at first, nothing back home compared to Earth's biosphere. He looked down at everyone around the campfire. _ And it was lacking _ them. He would give anything to just stay in this moment instead of moving forward through the linear motion of time - but he knew whatever he did, in a few weeks he'd be back on Cybertron. Most likely in a jail cell.

"-kout, are you even listeni- Actually, nevermind." Knockout shook from his trance to see that Jack was beside him, apparently trying to get his attention before he gave up and turned toward Rylee. "Rylee, could you get us some more firewood please? Fire's dying. Or brush would be good." Rylee nodded. "Thanks."

"I'm coming with you," Knockout stood up.

"Oh, _ now _ you're paying attention?" Jack squinted at him. "Anyways I said nevermind because I realized I don't know if I can even trust you in a forest. We'll tell you to bring us firewood and you'll bring back a 200 year old tree."

Knockout shrugged. "It's wood." Rylee looked up at him, and then continued walking on toward the forest. "Don't worry, I'm just watching over her. You forget this is a _ forest _, right? There is such thing as wildlife?"

"Okay, fine, whatever," Jack said, sitting down to join Miko and Smokescreen telling ghost stories. "Just make sure you don't stomp all over it. Or set it on fire. Or… whatever. You know what I mean."

Knockout turned toward the forest. Rylee had already started the incline toward the higher reaches of the forest, and Knockout hurried after her.

"Are you not scared of the dark? Or animals? You don't think a… uhh… _ lion _ will come eat you?" Knockout asked, walking behind her and swatting tree branches from his eyes.

"Knockout, I _ really _ don't think we're going to find a _ lion _ in the middle of a South Carolinian forest," Rylee laughed. "And no. I'm not scared of the dark as long as I know someone's here with me." She looked up, the moon reflected in her eyes. "You're here."

"That's a nice sentiment and all, but you didn't even look back. How would you know if I changed my mind and stayed behind?"

Rylee looked down as she walked, quiet for a few moments. "I don't. I just thought you'd be different."

_ Different? I mean… of course I am? I'm Cybertronian? _

"Different from… what?" Knockout finally asked, after a few quiet seconds.

"What, you want my whole life story?" Rylee snapped back, a sort of anger in her eyes. That soon changed to remorse. "I'm sorry. You didn't deserve that. I -" She covered her face with her hands. When she removed them there was a single trail of clear liquid down her face. Was that a… _ tear? _ He had only ever seen them in movies. Knockout quickly wracked his head for an appropriate response.

"Want… to… sit over here for a bit?" Knockout asked hesitantly, pointing to a flat boulder by the peak of the hill.

She wiped the liquid from her cheek quickly and turned toward him. "Why? We have a job to do." Her chin trembled a bit.

"I just… thought…well… since you…"

"Yeah, okay, yes," she finally said, quickly wiping another tear. She wouldn't look up at him. She walked over to the flat boulder and sat atop it, her legs dangling over the ridge. It would've been a long fall - almost as high as the ridge he first saved her from. He was tempted to scoot her back from the ledge, just in case, but they both knew that if Knockout was able to save her the first time, he'd be able to again. _ Hopefully. _Knockout sat down alongside her and she sniffed, both silently staring into the distance. Now this was the best view they could ask for. The city was now unobstructed, twinkling in the distance, and the expanse below them stretched with green forest for miles. Down below Knockout could make out the faint light of their dying campfire.

"So…" Knockout finally asked. "What's the problem?"

She looked up at him. "Do you know what day it is?"

Knockout blinked. "Umm… no. Earth time, no. Or Cybertronian time either, for that matter. I'm bad at keeping up with that."

"It's October 27," she looked in the distance.

Knockout sat there for a moment. "And…?"

"My father died today."

"Oh! Wow." Knockout's optics went wide. "Today? I… am sorry?"

Rylee smiled a bit. "No, not _ today _ today. Twelve years ago today."

Knockout bent down toward her. "How?"

Rylee sniffed and wiped her nose. "My father was a racer as well."

"Car crash?" Knockout asked calmly, but internally he was panicking. _ Primus, did I kill her father? _

"No," she answered, and a weight lifted off his chest. "Well… yes, but not…" She ran her hands through her hair and sighed. "Okay. How do I put this. My dad was racer, but never officially for NASCAR. Until he finally got his dream. He could finally race, but the catch was that he'd have to go to South Carolina. _ Here. _"

"Phoenix Ark? What for?"

"_ No, _ " a giggle broke from her gloom. "South Carolina, where we are. That's what I meant, Knockout. It was selfish, but I begged him not to go. To leave me behind for months on end. I asked him to at least take me with him. But he didn't listen. He left. And I felt… abandoned." She looked down at her own hands. "I never saw him again. He never got to race, either. He made it safely to South Carolina. Planes are safe. Cars are not. His taxi from the airport to his hotel got into a fatal car crash. He always knew he'd die in a car - but he thought it'd be on his own accord, out on the high-speed high-stakes race track. Not in a freak accident before his story even began, and his legacy unformed." Her hands then curled into a painful fist, her eyes shut. "I _ told _ him not to leave me."

"It's not your fault," Knockout tilted his head. "It couldn't possibly be."

"I know it's not. It's _ his _ ," she looked up at him, her eyes resentful. "He abandoned me. And because of him, I said I wouldn't let anyone close enough to abandon me again." She then curled her knees up to her body, hugging them. "That is, until you came around. I was doing just fine without anyone. My mother was the only one left that could possibly hurt me. And then you dragged me into this, knowing full well that when this is all over, you're going to just leave again. Forever." Her final words went unsaid, but hung in the air. _ 'Just like my father.' _

Knockout gaped in reply. He honestly didn't know what to say. It was true. He'd have to leave, go back to Cybertron eventually, and never come back. That was the universal constant for this entire mess they were in. He wished it weren't that way. But it was.

"I don't want to leave you behind, Rylee," he finally said. "But Cybertron _ will _ come looking for me. They already _ have _. And I'll try my hardest to evade them. But eventually they'll find me. They always do." Rylee stayed silent. "But when I am sent home… I promise I'll do everything in my power to come back here. Even if I have to hijack a space bridge only to see you for twenty minutes before they all tackle me and put me in a maximum security prison for a million years - I'll do it. I won't abandon you. Not if I can help it."

She looked up at him, her cheeks wet from tears, but a smile on her face. "That's nice to know." She then playfully punched his arm, her smile growing brighter. "And awfully sentimental too. Who are you and what did you do with Knockout?"

Knockout smiled, rolling his optics. "Whaaat, you think I'm completely uncaring? If I were, how do you think I'd ever be with Breakdown?"

"Who's Breakdown?" Rylee asked curiously, leaning against Knockout.

"Nothing," Knockout closed off suddenly, and then tried to recover. "A story for another time. And I promise I'll tell you it. But for now…" Knockout looked into the distance, the city lights gradually fading the the stars getting brighter. He sighed. "My conjunx endura. He was somebody very close to me that I lost. I'd rather not recount it right now."

Rylee patted his arm. "I'm sorry."

Knockout softly smiled. "Tonight, let's not focus on the past, or the future. Present is, we're both here, alive, and happy. And at worst, this will always remain a bittersweet memory, right?"

Rylee, still leaning on him, looked up and smiled. "Right."

And they sat there in silence, watching the night as it lived on, moonlight basking them both in its glow. He wanted to tell her about his past. He really did. But his fear of scaring her away trumped that, so he said nothing. Besides, he didn't want to ruin the moment, or taint their good memory. It would have to wait.

At least for another day.

Another day.

Author's Note

Thanks so much for reading! Sorry this update took a while, I've been busy with midterms and this has been the longest yet, but I've already started the next chapter! Hopefully that'll be out soon too! I appreciate any and all comments, thanks :)

Also! I'm ssstarscream on tumblr if anyone wants to find me


	22. Deprivation - RYLEE, JACK - 20

CHAPTER 20 - POV RYLEE

"You have got to be kidding me."

Knockout was sprawled out on the floor of the hangar, with Smokescreen and "Team Knockout" (as the humans had taken to calling themselves) standing over him.

"No, I am very very serious," Knockout weakly raised an arm. "Really underestimated how much energon I had left. Went into stasis mode last night and bam. I can't move."

"What do you mean underestimated your energon? You don't have any with you? When was the last time you had some?" Smokescreen asked incredulously.

"Umm…" Knockout began. "Weeks? Months? Don't ask me, it hurts to think."

"You don't have any?" Jack asked Smokescreen.

"No! I was supposed to get some from Ratchet. He's given an extra ration each month for visitors to Earth, but you all decided to kidnap me before I could get my portion!"

"Well, what are we going to do?" Miko yelled, signaling to Knockout. "The race is _ today! _"

"I'll race!" Smokescreen perked up. "I just have to scan his alt mode!"

"That doesn't solve the problem of Knockout dying on the floor, though," Rylee commented, beside him. "How are we going to get more… energon? Is that what it's called?"

Everyone was silent for a moment.

"We'll have to go to Ratchet," Jack finally said. His words were met with surprise. "It's the only place we'll find energon. Unless you plan on making a pit stop to Cybertron or digging some up in a nonexistent mine."

"How about a mine," Knockout said, staring up into the air. "Get the energon from a nice little mine that has no chance of tipping off my actions to Cybertron command."

"You and I both know the Decepticons have already picked this planet dry of energon. No, we need Ratchet." Jack pointed at Smokescreen. "Can you call Ratchet and have him space bridge over to deliver energon to you? Say you're here to look for Knockout, and that he wasn't there when he arrived so you left. And now you need your portion. Should work, right?"

"I… guess," Smokescreen rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm bad at lying, though."

"I'll come with you," Jack said. "Give Ratchet an excuse for where all of Team Prime's run off to."

"That… works I guess," Smokescreen said hesitantly. "Knockout, thoughts?"

"Mhm," Knockout said, completely zoned out. He held his hand up in the air and was just staring at it. "I was so caught up in the euphoria of being in a championship race that I forgot we lived in a world where I have to consume energon to live."

"Is it just me, or is Knockout quoting memes?" Miko squatted beside him, looking at him with a confused expression.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

As Knockout and Miko started chattering, Rylee turned to Smokescreen. "Guess it's me and you this time. Have you scanned Knockout yet? We have to go in… five minutes."

"Will now," Smokescreen nodded. His laser scanner ran over Knockout, who suddenly gave him a very stern expression.

"Hey!" Knockout said threateningly, raising a finger. "That…" Smokescreen frowned at him, but continued. Knockout suddenly broke down in laughter. "That _ tickles _."

Rylee raised an eyebrow. "Is he… okay? Can you guys even _ be _ ticklish?"

"No..." Smokescreen said hesitantly. "I mean I _ think _ not… um..." he looked around the room and awkwardly laughed. "Hey, I didn't go to medical school!"

"Wait! Knockout's a medic, right?" Rylee asked, running over to him. "What are the side effects of… whatever's happening?"

"Energon deprivation?" Knockout giggled. "Uhh… hallucinations and such?" Knockout then turned on his side toward Rylee, raising a single finger with a dumb smile. "I will tell you a secret though. I'll only tell you. To try to fix my… er… _ malnourishment _, I drank engex I stole from Ratchet's place, because I mean that's still energon, right? Right?" Knockout then hiccuped and laid back down, frowning. "I don't think it worked." They all sighed - except Rylee, who was confused.

"What? What's engex?" Rylee turned to Smokescreen, who looked tired.

"Cybertronian equivalent of what you'd call _ alcohol _," Smokescreen crossed his arms.

"He's drunk," Jack poked Knockout's hand, who wearily tried to swat him away.

"You guys can get drunk?" Rylee asked incredulously - almost hysterically. "How similar to humans are you all gonna get? What, do you also -" She zipped her mouth shut with a slight blush on her face, deciding against asking. "Actually, I don't want to know the answer to that."

"What? What?" Miko hopped up, standing beside her. "What's the question?"

"Alright it's time to go!" Smokescreen cut in, transforming to vehicle mode. His shift to Knockout's alt mode had been when they were all not looking, and Rylee was thankful for the quick escape from embarrassment.

"So…" Rylee said, eyeing Smokescreen. He looked exactly like Knockout… but obviously wasn't. "Umm. I just… climb inside?"

"You act as if you haven't gone racing with Knockout before. _ Yes _, hop in."

"Okay, okay," Rylee entered the car. "I didn't know if it was like, rude or something. I mean, _ you're _ the _ car _, and I'm -"

"Bye guys!" Smokescreen interjected, taking off with Rylee. "And Jack, work on getting in contact with Ratchet!"

"Wait, me?" Jack yelled, as they left earshot.

As they headed toward the track, both were silent for a moment. Rylee anxiously tapped her foot against the car's floor.

"So…" Smokescreen said slowly. "What's up?"

"Weird question," Rylee said suddenly, leaning forward. "But why do you have blue eyes while Knockout has red?"

"Ah…" Smokescreen trailed off. "Well, it's more of an… allegiance thing. Most Decepticons turned their eyes red to… well… show they were a Decepticon. Same with Autobots, but with blue."

"You guys can change your colors to whatever you want?" Rylee asked excitedly. "Theoretically… you could have strobe light eyes?"

"Well -" Smokescreen began.

"Wait," Rylee cut off. "If Knockout's an Autobot now, why does he still have red eyes?"

"I… I don't know?" Smokescreen answered hesitantly. "Probably liked his style." Before Rylee could open her mouth again, Smokescreen cut her off. "Look, I know you're probably going to ask me about the war… all the autobot and decepticon stuff…" he trailed off. "I think it's better to hear it from him."

"Why?" Rylee asked.

"Because…" Smokescreen was grasping for words. "He… well…" He was silent for a few moments. "Telling you himself, it might be easier to ask forgiveness."

"Forgiveness for what?" Rylee asked softly, as they reached the race track. Multitudes of other cars were already lined up, and Smokescreen got into position.

"Oh, I'm so excited I get to finally race!" Smokescreen exclaimed genuinely - though also obviously changing the topic. Fine - she'd ask Knockout herself.

"Remember - no causing accidents," Rylee reminded.

"What? I wouldn't do that!" Smokescreen said offendedly.

"Good, because I have to remind Knockout literally every race," Rylee responded. "I think he's just joking about it now … but you can never be sure."

As the checkered flag waved in the air, Rylee felt pumped with exhilaration. She'd never raced with Smokescreen before, and although it was technically the same car, it would be a completely new experience. She fistpumped the dashboard of the car. "Good luck out there, Smokey."

"Thanks!" Smokescreen responded, and she could hear the amusement in his voice. "But trust me… I won't need it." The green flag finally dropped, and Smokescreen tore down the track.

POV JACK

"Um… Ratchet?" Jack asked nervously, holding Smokescreen's intercom up to his face.

"Look who decided to grace me with his presence!" Ratchet exclaimed over the intercom. "You never brought Raf and Miko back. We were supposed to have a conversation, remember?"

"I - yes - sorry, but -"

"And why are you on Smokescreen's intercom?" Ratchet finally asked, confusedly.

"The thing is, I actually brought everyone back to the hangar," Jack started explaining his 'story'. "And um… while we were waiting for you, Smokescreen showed up. He was sent by the Elite Guard to look for Knockout. We… kind of decided to go with him."

"Smokescreen just took off without checking in with me?" Ratchet asked skeptically.

"Yes!" Jack said, almost a bit too quickly. "Umm. He didn't have time. He thought he had Knockout's trail. He didn't."

Ratchet sighed. "So what are you calling me for? Checking in? You should call your mother for that instead," he said grumpily, and then finally added, "She was worried."

"Actually we sort of have a problem. Smokescreen forgot to pick up his energon rations, so we thought you'd… ah… swing by and drop it off?" Jack winced. "Please?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll drop by now," Ratchet grumbled. "Where?"

"W-Wait!" Jack yelled. "Now? We… can't really right now. Smokescreen's kind of busy." Ratchet was silent for a while. "Ratchet?"

"_ Yes? _ " Ratchet finally responded. "Well when will he _ not be busy? _"

"Uhh…" Jack looked over at the half comatose Knockout, who was counting 'stars' in the 'sky' - small holes in the ceiling. "Tonight? Would that be good?"

"Alright. Now _ where _?"

"We'll let you know," Jack said. "I -"

He was interrupted by sudden banging on the hangar door. "Hello? Can anyone tell me why this door is _ locked? _ Ridiculous."

_ Uh Oh. _ It was Snakesworth.

"Ratchet, I really have to absolutely go right now. Goodbye," Jack said quickly before shutting off the intercom, cutting off Ratchet's protests. Jack then ran over to Knockout.

"Knockout, buddy, I _ really _ need you to turn into a car right now. Really badly," Jack said nervously, glancing at the hangar door.

"W...what?" Knockout asked drunkenly, still staring at the roof. "What's a car?" Jack gaped, and Knockout loudly burst out laughing. "Hah! Got you. 'What's a car?' I'm a car! Heh."

"Shh!" Jack hissed. "Hurry up and turn into a car."

"My dude," Knockout tried to lay his hand on Jack's shoulder but grossly underestimated his size, forcing Jack to dodge his hand. "I honestly? Don't know if I can."

"What do you mean you don't know?" Jack yelled. "_ Try! _"

"Who are you talking to in there?" Snakesworth asked from the entrance. "Hurry up and open this!"

"Hmm…" Knockout said, looking as if he were about to drift off into sleep.

"Knockout!" Jack yelled, to no response. Jack then jumped to Knockout's other side and kicked him square in the neck.

"Ow!" Knockout yelled sharply, and promptly shifted into a car.

"Huh. 'Swerve's Book of Rumors' was right. Blunt force to the neck _ can _ cause involuntary mode change." Jack sighed. Now he owed Miko money. He claimed the rumors were lies. How could they not be? I mean, there was a rumor in there saying Ultra Magnus was just a big armor piloted by a really small bot. And that Shockwave used to have a _ face _ before he was brainwashed to have no emotions. Crazy, right? So crazy it _ had _ to be fake… right?

Jack's thoughts were interrupted by the hangar door swinging open.

"Finally," Snakesworth sighed, sauntering in. "Had to get a guard to hand me some keys. You're _ right here _. Why couldn't you -"

Snakesworth froze when he caught sight of Knockout. Jack's eyes widened in terror as he turned again toward Knockout - assuming he was back to robot mode - but no, he was still a car. Jack then cocked an eyebrow at Snakesworth's confusion.

"Is that… another car?" Snakesworth then glanced at the TV that was currently playing the race. Smokescreen and Rylee were being focused on - currently in first place. _ Way _ ahead in first place. Smokescreen had to slow down.

Jack then glanced back at Knockout. Ah. He now understood the predicament they were in.

"Yes… a new car. Rylee thought we should have backups," Jack smiled.

Snakesworth inspected the car. "_ Why? _ And where is she getting the _ money? _"

"Like we said in the beginning," Jack leaned against a crate. "Don't worry about it."

"Fine," Snakesworth waved him off. "Whether you're in a mafia, pulled off a bank heist, or stole this from Area 51, I don't care how this got here. Just make sure you keep bringing in money and fame for me an' the company."

Snakesworth started trodding away, before stopping. "Oh yeah. An' what I was here for. How did you get here on time?" He looked over his shoulder back at Jack.

"Like I said," Jack smiled, trying his hardest to keep his cool. Knockout was slightly vibrating for some reason now, and he was desperately hoping Snakesworth wouldn't notice. "Don't worry about it."

"You kids…" Snakesworth wagged a finger at him. "You're going to drive me crazy. But, you know what, _ fine _ ! Have your fun." He was now at the hangar door, the handle in his fist. He then looked sternly into Jack's eyes, a certain coldness he couldn't match. "However, the second you all mess up, I will be there. _ And you will be paying the price. _" Snakesworth then pulled shut the door, leaving Jack with the echoes of an ominous clang.

Author's Note

Thanks for reading! And sorry it took so long! I've been so busy reading More Than Meets The Eye, if you're a fan of that series you might've noticed I threw in a few references :) (the two "unbelievable" rumors which - in the comics - are actually true).

Again, thanks for reading, and feel free to leave comments! I love reading them!


	23. Whatever Comes Next - JACK - 21

Chapter 21 - POV Jack 

The hills of Phoenix Ark arched before them like wings as Smokescreen and Jack trudged along. Night had fallen once more - and it seemed as if they'd only ever know this place at night. Always be blanketed in some sort of eternal darkness and depth. Jack never thought they'd be back. But of course, things never go to plan.

"Are you sure you sent Ratchet the right coordinates?" Smokescreen asked, swatting a branch from his face.

"Yes. Right up ahead," Jack pointed. "I set the location so that it's completely shrouded by bushes and trees. Ratchet wouldn't have it any other way." He then turned to Smokescreen, and discreetly whispered "Yeah, and please don't tell him we were up on the hill earlier with a campfire for the whole city to see. I realize now that anyone with binoculars could've spotted us." Smokescreen nodded. They finally reached their destination and swatted aside the bushes to find … nothing.

"Ah. Hate to ask _ again _ , but are you sure you said _ here _ ?" Smokescreen crouched down. Just as Smokescreen asked that, the space bridge erupted from nowhere, its brightness illuminating the trees like a green fire. Smokescreen stood up, the light reflecting off his polish. Jack now understood why Ratchet asked for _ discreet _. Ratchet then stepped through the portal, and Jack looked up at his disapproving face. It was almost as if he saw right through the lie, but said nothing of it.

"Hey, ah, Ratchet!" Jack waved. The space bridge remained open for a bit longer, and Ratchet stood aside to reveal June Darby. His mom. Jack's wave slowly fell as June crossed her arms.

"Mom…" Jack said hesitantly, and Smokescreen looked antsy as well.

"_ Jack, _" she responded, deeply frowning at him.

"Yes, yes, Ms. Darby here refused to let me go without her," Ratchet grumbled, lowering the energon case he was carrying. The space bridge behind him then closed. "She mentioned you'd gone missing suddenly and completely off the radar. _ Interesting _, right?"

"I can explain," Jack began, holding out his hands.

"How could you do this to me?" June questioned, her face still one of deep discontent, but her eyes beginning to water. "You leave for full days at a time, citing it's a 'study group'. Obviously I know it's not, and you're meddling with the affairs of giant robots like last time. I could tolerate that. You did fine on Team Prime, and now you're about to join Unit E. I had to allow some freeway." She took a deep breath, trying to collect herself. "But to leave? Without a word, to go missing for days on end? What am I supposed to think, Jack? You went out on another one of your secret adventures and never came home?" A tear finally fell, and her stern jaw was now quivering. "I thought I _ lost you _, Jack."

"Mom… I…" Jack was lost for words. An immense guilt overtook his body. He was tempted to come clean right now - reveal everything they'd been doing. To stop the pain and the lies. But then he looked up at Smokescreen. His expression was one of willful contemplation - but he said nothing as well. Jack understood. If he exposed Knockout here and now, Smokescreen would go down with him for being part of the conspiracy. They had to wait. He had to play his part. "I'm sorry."

June then stepped forward, and Jack followed suit. She then suddenly embraced him. "I'm just glad you're okay. That you weren't kidnapped by a Decepticon…or worse." Jack buried his head in her shoulder. He missed her. A lot.

But she couldn't know what was going on. She wouldn't allow it.

"Don't worry Ms. Darby, I'll make sure that won't happen to him." Smokescreen crouched down again, trying to be as level as possible to June's face. June then backed out from the hug, still squeezing Jack's shoulders.

"You're staying with him, Jack?" she asked.

"Well… yes," Jack finally answered. "We have a lot of work to do." Jack then looked up at Ratchet, who still looked cross. "And Ratty, I'm sorry, but _ this _ is the action we've been looking for for months. We couldn't pass it up."

"_ 'Ratty? _'" Ratchet sighed. "Don't tell me you're using Miko's nicknames now."

"About them, are they with you?" June asked, letting go of Jack.

"Here? No. Back at… ah… _ base _, yes," Jack responded. "Let their parents know they're okay, will you? Knowing Raf, he probably already has."

"All of this reunion has been nice, but it seems you've all forgotten why we're here." Ratchet lifted up the case of energon.

"Ah! Thanks Ratchet!" Smokescreen hopped over to him and delicately picked it up by the handle. "It's nice to see you again. Sorry I left so quickly. Was in a big hurry!"

"About that," Ratchet began. "Why _ South Carolina? _"

"I picked up Knockout's signal here. Had to blast before it disappeared. And… well… it disappeared."

"Yes, but the bigger question is why Knockout would be in South Carolina. From what I understand, it's a relatively unpopular state." Ratchet's optics slowly shifted to Jack. "Any ideas, Jack?"

Jack felt as if he were under a spotlight. By now, Jack was definitely nervously sweating.

"No clue," Jack responded. "Never did research into South Carolina. Maybe he's just… passing through?"

"Yes. Of course," Ratchet responded. It was very obvious he didn't believe a single lie he'd told - ever. But he still said nothing.

Smokescreen, now holding the crate of energon, was noticeably antsy to leave. "It's been nice catching up, but we kind of have to go now." Smokescreen was smiling, but when he looked down at Jack he noticed a sense of urgency in his eyes. _ That's right. Knockout! _ He had no clue how long he could go without energon, but it probably did no good to test that limit. The look in Smokescreen's eyes suggested they were _ nearing _ that limit, however.

Ratchet nodded. "Remember, I still have something to tell you, Raf, and Miko, together. But seeing as you haven't shown up again, I now doubt you even care."

There was the guilt again. "I'm sorry, Ratchet."

"Don't be getting all sentimental on me," Ratchet brushed off. "I'm certainly not." _ It seemed it was now Ratchet's turn for lying. _

The space bridge appeared behind them, and Ratchet turned to leave. "I will be seeing you all back at base later. _ Hopefully. _" June Darby was still standing there, an anxious indignant look on her face. "June. Time to go." She frowned, worry clouding her eyes as she kept contact with Jack. She finally turned.

"I love you, Jack. Please answer my phone calls now - and more importantly, _ don't die out there. _ " She then turned for one last moment, and look of anger in her eyes. "If you do, I will _ never _ forgive Knockout. I will tear apart him and Cybertron itself. Mark my words." With that she and Ratchet entered the space bridge, and both were left in gloomy darkness once more. Both were silent for a moment, before turning and walking back down the hill.

"That was very dramatic, what your mom said," Smokescreen laughed. "Unrealistic, but dramatic. She should become an actor."

Not even Smokescreen's humor could lift Jack's sullen mood. Jack suddenly frowned. "Wait, how did they space bridge back?" He looked up at Smokescreen, who shrugged. "They closed the original space bridge behind them, so they would need somebody back at base to open a new one."

"A Team Prime member is back, maybe? A reunion?" Smokescreen smiled enthusiastically.

Jack frowned again. "No… I'm pretty sure Ratchet would've told us. It's something else. Something _ weird _ about the whole situation."

"Well, we don't have to care about it _ now _," Smokescreen raised a hand. "We've got the energon and that's all we need. Now to resuscitate Knockout and hope the engex has left his system. Whatever comes next, we'll get through it."

"Yeah," Jack said, warily looking back at the meeting location - now shrouded in absolute darkness. "Whatever comes next."


	24. Blue Spectre - KNOCKOUT - 22

CHAPTER 22 - POV KNOCKOUT

Knockout awoke to Rylee tapping on his arm. He looked to his side to find her cluelessly staring up at him.

"Sorry. Did I wake you? I wanted to make sure you were still alive."

Knockout looked beyond her, vision still blurry. They were within the hangar; Jack and Miko were playing cards as Smokescreen intently watched them. Raf was on the side attempting to craft cards large enough for Smokescreen to hold. Knockout blinked again. _How long was he out?_

"What happened?" Knockout asked, looking back at the ceiling.

"You don't remember anything?"

"Err…. no." He tried to think back. "Wait. I remembered I felt kind of terrible. So I drank Ratchet's engex to get myself through the race. After that… no clue." He sat up excitedly. "Did we win the race?"

Rylee smiled. "You didn't win anything. Smokescreen did."

Knockout feigned a look of betrayal. "But why? I was fine! I could've raced!"

"You were _not _fine, Knockout," Rylee remarked. "In fact, you were practically passed out on the floor. You almost died. We had to basically hand-feed you energon."

"Oh," Knockout said, and left it at that.

"I didn't know you actually needed… _stuff _to live? And you went on this whole journey knowing you'd… I guess… _starve _eventually? If I knew that I wouldn't have let you go on this semi-suicide mission of yours!"

"Small price to pay," Knockout shrugged, and stood up. "Where'd the energon come from? I feel fine."

"Ratchet."

"Ratchet?" Knockout yelled, causing all of 'Team Knockout' to shush him.

"Yes. Ratchet! What are we supposed to do, let you die?" Rylee snapped back.

"There is no way he's not on to us," Knockout drew his hand down his face.

"Obviously!" Smokescreen shrugged. "But what can you do?"

Raf was standing by the window, still trying to cut out Smokescreen's cards when he suddenly froze. "Guys…?"

"You can _not _call Ratchet!" Knockout yelled back at Smokescreen. "It doesn't matter if you saved me from energon deprivation, when Ratchet gets here with the rest of the Elite Guard he's going to kill me himself!" He sunk down to the floor. "I didn't even get the chance to _win _yet!"

Smokescreen slightly turned toward Jack, and whispered, "Forget what I said about your mother being dramatic. Knockout 'takes the cake', as you'd say."

"I _heard _that," Knockout kicked a wrench at him, which he dodged.

"Guys," Raf said. "I really think you should -"

"No _'thank you'_ for saving your life?" Smokescreen crossed his arms. "We had to go up into the forest again to meet Ratchet! And lie the whole time! I'm a terrible liar!"

"The -" Knockout's face then dropped. "_Tell me_ you didn't meet him at Phoenix Ark."

"What other forests are there?"

"Great. Ratchet knows we're here." Knockout laid down with his face directly to the floor.

"Cheer up, Knockout," Rylee said, patting his arm. "We made the best of a bad situation. Everything's okay for now, and that's all that matters."

Knockout interrupted his moping to look up at Smokescreen, a major frown on his face. "Smokescreen. _What _place did you get?"

Smokescreen smiled cheekily. "See, I'm not very good at pacing myself. I don't know how you're able to pretend like you got in seventh, but I… sort of forgot. And don't have the patience."

"_Smokescreen_," Knockout warned, starting to get up.

"I got first!" Smokescreen yelled in joy, and then hid behind a crate.

"Smokescreen!" Knockout yelled in rage, running after him. "_I_ was supposed to get first! That was reserved for _me_!" Knockout began chasing him, Smokescreen accidentally crushing a few crates along the way much to the kids' protest.

There was suddenly a loud bang, and everyone paused and turned toward Raf, who was frowning. A stack of books were now on the floor, the noise from the drop seemingly finally gotten everyone's attention.

"What was that for?" Miko asked.

"_Look_," Raf pronounced, and pointed out the window. Knockout froze up. _Did he want to look? _Fighting his dread, he slowly walked over to the window - followed by everyone else. And his view was met by -

A fighter jet?

"Am I seeing this correctly?" Smokescreen asked, turning to everyone. "A fighter jet right outside our hangar, at a NASCAR race track?"

"I'd say it screams Decepticon," Jack mumbled.

"Yes, but I don't _recognize _him," Smokescreen replied. "I've never seen anyone like that."

But Knockout had. "Stay back," Knockout warned, pushing all the humans behind him. "I don't know who he is. But I recognize him. Which means, most likely, well…"

"He's a Decepticon?" Rylee finished.

"Yes." Knockout searched his memory. _F-15 fighter jet. Who? Starscream? No. He changed to that skinny little frame._

_Wait. The frame. They looked precisely as Starscream had _before _the war. _Dread filled Knockout once more_. A vengeful Starscream is the last thing they needed. But why hasn't he attacked? _Knockout looked closer._ Wait, the colors aren't correct. Starscream is red, yellow and blue. This one's just.. _blue.

"Are you going to share your thoughts with the rest of the class?" Miko finally asked. "I didn't even get a good look at him," she grumbled.

"He's not Starscream," Knockout said mindlessly, still trying to go over information in his head.

"If he's not Starscream, it's safe to take a closer look, right?" Miko hopped.

"I… _guess…_" Knockout shrugged, not taking his eyes off the jet. He then turned to Miko. "Wait. You've practically memorized every famous Cybertronian, right?"

"Of course," Miko responded. "Have to be prepared if I ever meet one!"

"Ever heard of the seeker trine?"

Miko's eyes went wide. She stood there for a while without saying anything, and then suddenly rant out the hangar door.

"Miko!" everyone yelled, and promptly ran after her. When they arrived outside they found her standing beside the jet, a look of pure elation on her face.

"Who do you think it is?" She jumped excitedly. "Not primary colors, so not Starscream. Not purple, so Skywarp is ruled out. Thundercracker…?" she stepped closer, examining the patterns on the wings. "Seems like Thundercracker!" They all cautiously stood a few feet away as Miko casually familiarized herself with the jet. Her smile suddenly fell in confusion. "Only problem with that. Isn't the seeker trine supposed to be -"

"Dead?" Knockout cut off. "Yes. Skywarp and Thundercracker were killed in an explosion on Earth long before Megatron even considered waging his war here. And Starscream..." Knockout furrowed his optic ridges. "Starscream changed his frame to his modern one not soon after. He said it was for tactical reasons… but if you ask anyone, he was definitely hurting. They were like family to him. He didn't want to look in the mirror and every day be reminded of those he lost."

"That's the most profound I've ever seen you get," Smokescreen said, trying to hide Raf and Jack behind his leg. "But I don't know how a character analysis on Starscream is going to help us with a jet _right here._"

"Point is: Thundercracker's dead," Knockout said simply. "It's not him."

"I think I saw something move in the cockpit," Rylee pointed up.

"Human?" Smokescreen asked in terror. _Yeah. Imagine being a human pilot waking up from a nap to find two Cybertronians standing above you._

"No," Rylee remarked from Knockout's shadow. "Something smaller."

Knockout turned his head to find Miko already climbing up the jet.

"Miko? What are you doing?" Smokescreen yelled. "That could be dangerous!"

"I guess that cancels out 'Decepticon'," Knockout sighed. "Trust me, they would've lost their temper long ago."

Miko put her face against the cockpit's glass. She then looked back in surprise. "It's… a _dog!_"

"A _dog_?" they all replied in unision. They all took a step closer.

"That's definitely a dog," Knockout said, peering inside. It was a little brown dog and it looked _happy_, as if sitting in that cockpit was their favorite place in the world.

"Can it breathe?" Miko looked back in terror. "Should I break the glass?"

"I… no, Miko, don't break the glass," Knockout rubbed his head. "You wouldn't even be able to break the glass."

"Yes, but _you _can!" she pointed at Knockout.

"Why? Why am I going to break open a cockpit?"

"Because," Miko gestured furiously. "_Dog!_"

Knockout sighed. "Rylee, thoughts?" He always trusted her to have the final say.

"If you really think the dog will suffocate in there…" Rylee trailed off. "Then break it open. Property damage is worth it if we save a dog."

"Wait, have we all forgotten the major question of why it's even here and how it got here?" Raf questioned. "Are you sure damaging it is the best idea?"

"Who cares. Rylee gave me the green light, so I'm going for it." Knockout raised back his arm to shatter the glass.

"Don't hurt my dog!" the yell came from nowhere. Suddenly the jet transformed, a flash of metal as Knockout stumbled backwards to find himself recoiling from a bot looming many feet above him. Knockout had forgotten how tall the old seeker frames were - nearing as tall as Megatron himself. Blue wings arched in the air, and Rylee hid behind Knockout's leg. A wrist-mounted missile was now inches from Knockout's face. Red eyes slimmed in anger, and a protective hand cupped over his palm, the seeker looked as if possessed by defensive rage.

"Did you not think about how the shattered glass would've fallen on her?" He scowled. "I'm honestly offended you'd think I wouldn't take complete care of Buster. 'She's suffocating!'" he mocked, glowering. "If anything happened to her, I would kill everyone in this area and then myself." He furiously looked at them all for a few more moments, before realizing they all seemed to be cowering in fear. He then straightened up, towering over Knockout, wings stretched into the air. He opened his palm to reveal a very content puppy. And then smiled.

"Sorry about that, I'm very protective. Buster's my closest friend." He looked down at the dog - Buster - for a moment, who wagged her tail back at him. "And, well, it seems I'm not very good at this 'spy' stuff, because congratulations, you caught me!" He sheepishly grinned. "My name is Thundercracker."


	25. Screenplays & Harsh Realities-RYLEE-23

CHAPTER 23 - POV RYLEE 

Rylee was paralyzed with terror. _Not again. Not another._

This one was taller than every 'bot she'd met yet - a great deal taller. A great deal more naturally menacing as well - although for the moment he also seemed a great deal softer than his initial impression. But that didn't matter - not when the stranger's armed with missiles and striking fear in even Knockout. Rylee was curled in a ball behind Knockout's leg, refusing to look up. No use running, if anything happened Knockout would protect her - or not.

From the corner of her eyes she could see Knockout glance down at her, and then came the noise of metal shifting. She looked in the direction of the noise to find Knockout's hand replaced with a buzzsaw, which he held in front of him defensively.

"You have a _weapon_? You've had a weapon _this whole time_?" Rylee yelled up at him, still refusing to look back at Thundercracker. But now she was questioning whether she should step away from Knockout as well. "What kind of doctor needs a _buzzsaw_?"

"Stay back, Rylee," Knockout said urgently, holding the other hand out to protect her. He then raised the buzzsaw and activated it, holding it in front of him as a warning to the blue jet. "And you, whoever _you _are, _stand down_." Rylee peeked around his legs to see the jet's reaction - one of utter confusion.

"I think you've got the wrong idea. I'm not here to hurt you," Thundercracker raised the hand that wasn't holding the dog innocently. "I didn't even _threaten _y- well…" He looked up in thought, and then shrugged. "Hey, you almost hurt my dog. What am I supposed to do?"

"Why are you here, Decepticon?" Smokescreen asked slowly - cautiously. This was the most serious Rylee had ever seen Smokescreen. Seeing him exclusively act like a goofball around her, she had almost forgotten he was an "Elite Guard" (_whatever_ that was) warrior… and most importantly, had been part of the war. She glanced at every else - all tense as well. They _all _were part of the war.

But not her. She didn't even know what the war was about… or what to expect from it… and most importantly, she never asked to be dragged into _any _of this.

The stranger stepped forward, and everyone else stepped back. "My name is Thundercracker, and I am not a Decepticon. Haven't for a long, long time."

"That's impossible," Miko stepped forward from behind Smokescreen, her curiosity getting the better of her. "Thundercracker died."

"Well!" Thundercracker laughed and held out his hands. "I got better."

"Who are you working for?" Smokescreen asked, still tense. Rylee looked closer. Did his hand turn into… a _gun_? Rylee sat down behind Knockout again, breathing deeply for a few moments. Not only was she around giant robots, she's been around _armed _giant robots. Wonderful.

"Who else? The United States of America, _duh_." He looked at them as if it were common sense. At their confused expressions, he tilted his head in confusion as well. "What? Did I say it wrong again? Is that not the name of this country?" After a few seconds of everyone standing there dumbfounded, the seeker waved at them. "Hellooo?"

"Yes, that's the name of the country." Jack responded, looking unduly stressed. "But what does that mean? You work for Unit E? How does a Decepticon get about faking their death and working for the U.S. government? And with a _dog_?"

"I don't work for Unit E," Thundercracker raised a finger. "I work for the EDC. Earth Defense Command. At least I remember _that_!" He smiled. "I work under Marissa Faireborn. She's my best friend, even though I think I annoy her a lot. I know it's just because she's busy all the time and doesn't have time to read my screenplays. But it's okay because in the end I know I'm still her best friend as well." He suddenly blinked. "This got off topic. What was I talking about?"

Rylee inched farther out from Knockout's leg. Despite his appearance and earlier actions, he seemed the furthest from threatening.

But he still seemed menacing. _It could be an act. Don't trust him._

"Did you say screenplays? You write movies?" Miko jumped up, smiling.

"Yes!" Thundercracker grinned, placing his dog on his shoulder and clapping his hands together. "I'm working on one right now. It's about a girl from Earth who finds out this guy she's dating is actually Unicron's holoform! And these split-spark humans… er… what are they called again? Twins! Twins Thunder and Cracker unite to take down Unicron! It's a riveting romantic drama. Can't miss it."

"I'm sorry, _what _is going on?" Smokescreen finally asked, looking extremely confused.

"He writes plays!" Miko said excitedly to him, and then turning to Thundercracker. "I would love to read your plays one day."

"Finally! Somebody who appreciates my artistry!" Thundercracker grinned, petting his dog. "I can't wait to show you the one where I'm a detective and fight Santa Claus in the North Pole for committing homicide on Christmas when really, it was Megatron dressed as Santa all along. It's called 'The Thirteenth Day of Christmas'."

"I agree with Smokescreen, _what _exactly is going on?" Knockout drolled, pausing the buzzsaw.

"Okay, I'm getting us back on topic," Jack raised his hands. "We were talking about _Unit E_ before you got distracted."

"Oh, that's right! Yes, I don't work for Unit E, but Unit E's a subdivision of the EDC. With Agent Fowler? He's a funny man, he taught me a lot about Earth lingo. _'What in Sam Hill?'_" He laughed. "That's my favorite phrase now."

"Agent Fowler?" the three kids and Smokescreen asked in unison.

"Who's Fowler?" Rylee whispered to Knockout, who distractedly shrugged in reply.

"...Yes?" Thundercracker responded, almost nervously. "What? What is it? Is he evil or something?"

"We know him. We used to work closely with him," Raf said, stepping out from behind Smokescreen. "We're actually going to again in a few weeks."

Thundercracker bent down to Raf and smiled. "Hey, maybe whenever you start working for him you'll see me around. Or maybe not. I'm kind of really top secret. You all are not even supposed to know I'm _alive… _but oh well." He then raised his dog to his face with a stupidly big grin. "But anything for Buster, right? Her health comes first, before any 'national defense and security' or whatnot."

Nearby they could hear a vehicle, and Jack started inching toward the hangar. "I think we're all forgetting we're in _public_, and we need to get indoors. _Now_." As Jack passed by her towards the hangar, Rylee discreetly grabbed his arm from behind Knockout.

"We're bringing him inside?" Rylee hissed, making sure Thundercracker didn't hear.

"What else are we supposed to do?" Jack pulled his arm away, kneeling down. "First priority is hiding their identity."

"But he's - he's -" Rylee couldn't seem to get the words out. "He's a _Decepticon_!"

Jack glanced up at Knockout. "In case you haven't noticed, Knockout is a Decepticon. Besides, you don't even know what a Decepticon _is_."

"Seeing Thundercracker transform like that out of nowhere and threaten us," she gestured toward Thundercracker, "I finally realized _what _a Decepticon is. And why they're said to be so terrifying."

"Rylee…" Jack sighed, standing up again. He offered Rylee a hand, which she gingerly took and lifted herself up. "We can talk about this later. But for now, it doesn't matter if Thundercracker was Megatron himself - we can't let the public know of his existence."

"I don't even know who Megatron _is_," Rylee mumbled, walking towards the hangar.

Jack raised both eyebrows. "Oh. _Right_." They entered the hangar, Thundercracker having to duck to get through the door, and Smokescreen shutting it closed behind him. Three Cybertronians in this small space was getting excessive.

"So… I guess I should ask. Why are you all here?" Thundercracker questioned, leaning on a crate.

"Aren't you supposed to be a spy? _You _tell _us_," Miko joked. "Kidding, kidding. We're infiltrating NASCAR. Knockout wants to win."

"Miko!" echoed around the room from many sources, and she cringed.

"What?" she shrugged. "There's no way he doesn't know. Or won't know eventually."

"Actually, I didn't know," Thundercracker said, sitting down and crossing his legs. "Marissa and Fowler suspected something, so they sent me to look in. Things didn't quite seem to add up." He then pointed at the kids. "And apparently you all had something to do with it. Fowler was very adamant something fishy was going on when he saw you all on television."

Jack ran his hand down his face. "Great. Now the government's after us." He then looked back up at Thundercracker. "How were we even on TV? They don't keep tabs on the pit crew. And… you know… Knockout doesn't stop for pit stops anyways."

Thundercracker shrugged. "Don't know where you showed up but apparently you were all together. Which wouldn't be fishy at all except you all took part in an alien war… and now it turns out there's _another _alien on Earth now." He looked at Knockout. "How come Cybertron never tells _us _when they're sending guests?" Everyone apparently thought it best to not inform Thundercracker that Knockout was no longer in fact a guest, but a wanted fugitive.

"I… take it you're not in contact with Ratchet?" Smokescreen asked hesitantly.

"Ratchet? The old autobot medic?" Thundercracker laughed. "Err no… why would I be?"

"He's the only Cybertronian that stayed behind to watch over Earth," Raf stated. "Well… besides you, I suppose."

Thundercracker looked overly amused. "_Ratchet_?" he laughed. "Grumpy Ratchet agreed to stay behind? I never knew him very well - I mean, we were enemies for the greater part of the war - but even _I _knew that had to be extremely uncharacteristic of him. I wonder what happened..." He looked as if he had an idea, and pulled out a datapad from his compartment and starting typing.

"What are you doing?" Miko asked, trying to read through the holographic datapad - which was difficult, since he was typing in Cybertronian.

"New character trope. That inspired me! Do you think Ratchet would be fine with me writing a movie about him? If anything, I'll change his name." He raised a finger, smiling. "I've got it! His name can be _Dratchet_!" He then frowned and raised his hand to his chin. "Ah, no… sounds too much like a ship name."

"That's the problem? Not that _Dratchet _sounds way too similar to _Ratchet _for it to be coincidental?" Miko questioned, while Jack stood there dumbfounded.

"Can we… please get back on track?" Jack rubbed his temples. "Thundercracker, now that you're here, what do you plan on doing next? Turn us in? Because if so… _please _don't do that."

"I mean…" Thundercracker looked up in thought, tapping the holopad stylus against his chin. "This has been a very neat experience so far. I've already gotten so much inspiration for my stories just from this." His wings slightly lifted - presumably from happiness. "I don't get to leave the base much... especially since, you know, the world doesn't know Cybertronians exist. So I'd love to immerse myself in human culture as much as possible if I'm going to be writing for them."

Jack frowned, still confused as to what was going on. "So… what does that mean?"

"Can I stick with you guys?" Thundercracker asked, smiling and tilting his head to the side. "For a bit? I'll report back to Marissa later, I just want to spend as much time out of the base as possible. As long as what you're up to isn't… I guess… _evil _in any way, I'll only report back to command after you're finished."

"You're not going to get in trouble?" Raf questioned.

"Me? No. They're quite happy to have me aboard, and I'm quite happy to be there. They may get _annoyed… _but hey, what can ya do?" Thundercracker let Buster down from his shoulder and onto the floor, where she greeted all the kids.

"_Another_? Not _another…_" Rylee muttered silently, and from her peripheral she noticed that Knockout had apparently heard, but said nothing.

"You say you're fine as long as we're not up to anything 'evil'. What do you define as 'evil'?" Jack questioned. "Because if you were someone like Ultra Magnus, this would count in your book of evils."

Thundercracker frowned. "Is this a quiz? A morality test? Primus, I had enough of those when I joined the EDC. I don't need more." He stood up, picking up Buster and placing her on his shoulder. "From what I've seen, you're just racing and that's it! So, you may be breaking nonexistent intergalactic laws… but I don't see anything in the Earth United States of America Constitution saying aliens can't take part in NASCAR."

"I… don't think that would be in the Constitution," Raf said quietly. "Probably just the NASCAR rules. But I understand what you're saying."

"He understands me!" Thundercracker said joyously, raising Buster in his hand as if giving a toast. "So… whatever you're up to, I'm fine. As long as everyone is a willing and knowledgeable participant." Thundercracker looked at Rylee with a strange expression, and she inched more behind Knockout's leg, attempting to hide herself from him. Thundercracker then looked toward Jack again, an almost imperceptible frown on his face.

"Well… I guess that settles it," Jack shrugged. "We've got _three _Cybertronians now. Funny thing is, now _two _of you were sent to bring Knockout in and ended up joining us instead."

"I'm just that irresistible," Knockout smiled sweetly.

"What is it we've created? Have we started a movement?" Miko said absent-mindedly, laying on her back and staring at the ceiling. "What if that was how Megatron started the Decepticon movement. Orion Pax sends Soundwave to take Megs into custody, but then Megatron talks to Soundwave and Soundwave goes 'Ok that's a pretty good idea doe' and joins him. And then every single person Orion sends joins Megatron until he's got, like, enough people to start a revolution." When Miko finally went silent, she noticed everyone's eyes were on her - mostly looking lost. "What? I mean, that's practically what's happening right here."

"Soundwave would never say that," Raf commented.

Miko rolled her eyes. "Of course he wouldn't. It's just for humorous effect, _gosh _guys."

Jack had to close his eyes for a few moments before turning back to Thundercracker. "You never explained how you're alive and how you came to work for the government."

"Ah. _That_!" Thundercracker laughed - but this time it looked as if it were to hide pain. "Yes, that's a funny story. More like a tragedy, but well, umm…" As everyone expectantly waited for him to continue, he sighed and went on. "It was midway through the war, before Megatron ever considered turning Earth into his new wargrounds. We were stopping by for refueling, and found a large energon cache buried under a very populated human city. Now, of course, you know Megatron's brutal method of obtaining such energon - it's to raze -"

"Wait! Wait," Knockout interrupted, hesitantly stepping forward. "Have you forgotten that there are children here? Dear Raf is only _twelve_! Wouldn't... er… descriptions of Decepticon tactics be a bit too rated R for them?"

"What are you talking about?" Raf retorted. "You act as if I wasn't physically there for the war!"

"No. I know what it is," Jack crossed his arms, rolling his eyes. "He's still trying to hide the details of the war from Rylee. You _still _haven't told her?"

"I - what?" Knockout frowned, getting defensive. "I mean _no_, I haven't, but eventually when the time's right..."

Thundercracker frowned. "Is Rylee the one over there?" he nodded toward Rylee, who begrudgingly stepped out from Knockout's shadow. She nodded. He looked up at Knockout in disbelief. "So she's been hanging out with a Decepticon this whole time without knowing what a Decepticon _is_?"

"That's what I've been saying," Smokescreen commented, looking out the window.

Knockout winced. "What? What's so bad about that? I'm not a Decepticon anymore!"

"But you were," Thundercracker crossed his arms, a slight frown. "Now that I think of it, I do remember you. You were there from the beginning, same as me. Which means you witnessed all the… _horrors _going on and did nothing about it."

"I joined the Autobots," Knockout mumbled, almost as if in a trance. "In the battle to retake Cybertron, I joined the Autobots."

"What? At the close of the war? You just picking the winning side, to get a lighter sentencing? But all throughout..." Thundercracker slightly frowned. "All throughout the war you did nothing in opposition to the many atrocities that the Decepticons committed. And tried to make up for it when it was too late - or was it just self-preservation?"

"What did _you _do?" Knockout cried out, slightly shaking from anger. "What grand action did you take against the entirety of the Decepticon empire?"

"I _died_, Knockout," Thundercracker stated, looking down at the small dog in his hands. The hangar went silent and Knockout backed down, unsure of how to respond. Or if there was even a response after something like that. "I 'died' stopping another Decepticon atrocity from taking place. And in doing so I had to kill my brother."

"Skywarp?" Miko asked softly, and Thundercracker nodded, his eyes still on Buster. Knockout looked lost for a moment, and then turned on his heel and began to leave.

"Knockout, wait," Thundercracker called, and Knockout paused momentarily. Thundercracker looked up at him, a certain distraughtness in his features. "For you, I'll keep my stories to myself. I'll explain what happened to me later in private, to just you and the young 'bot." He gestured to Smokescreen and then paused, as if weighing a heavy option. "But I can't promise that secrets will always stay so." Knockout stayed still for a few moments, expression hidden from view. And then continued on. He isolated himself in the far corner of the hangar, and Rylee followed.

He looked almost surprised to find that she had followed him over. She sat on one of the smaller crates near Knockout, eyeing Thundercracker.

"Rylee." She turned in the direction of the voice to Knockout concernedly looking down at her. He knelt down. "You seem nervous." She didn't know what to say to that. She glanced back at Thundercracker, who was letting the other kids pet Buster with a renewed smile on his face. Maybe she was being paranoid. Most likely so. But nothing could replace the fear she felt when confronted by the rage-filled sixty foot historically evil robot. It was a fear long overdue - she should've feared Knockout from day one. Should've run as far as she could. But for some reason she couldn't fear Knockout… maybe it was the shock. Or the ignorance. Or perhaps both. But this was the first time it became very real to her that these were robots that had been at war for millions of years. That adversity and warfare was just an everyday thing to them - while somehow _ racing _ was not. And given all of Thundercracker's ominous implications… the war suddenly seemed more grave than she initially thought. She was… _ unsettled _, to say the least. And for the very first time, she wanted to run.

She looked back up at Knockout, who seemed even more concerned at her long silence. _But she wouldn't run. Not while he was counting on her._ "Knockout, can you promise me something?"

"Yes," he said quickly, and then winced. "Well, depends. If you're going to ask me to re-animate Unicron, I'm going to have to say no to that."

Rylee woefully chuckled to herself, nervously adjusting her necklace and muttered quietly, "Once again, I don't know who Unicron _is_." She then looked back up at him, gently laying a hand on his wrist. "Can you promise me you'll keep us all safe from any threats?" she paused for a few moments, looking down. "Keep _me _safe?"

"Rylee…" Knockout trailed off surprisedly, seemingly having expected a different question. Rylee finally looked back up at him, vaguely misty-eyed. His hesitation then shut down with hardened resolve. "Yes. Of course." She smiled, and he smiled back - with, however, an element of distress that he attempted to hide.

She tensed up. She got the feeling she was being watched - like eyes boring into the back of her skull. She turned to find Thundercracker's red optics gazing at her, and a chill went down her spine. He quickly looked away, to the kids happily chasing the dog around.

But the fear remained.

Author's Note

Hey everyone, thanks for reading! Sorry the wait took so long, I've had finals this past week but I'm finally done! (I've also been binge-reading More Than Meets The Eye, but don't worry, I'm back ;)

Thanks for all the kind comments, they mean a lot to me! This has been the longest chapter yet, and hopefully I'll get more out soon!


	26. Insomnia - JACK - 24

CHAPTER 24 - POV JACK - One Week and a Race later 

As the night grew colder, Jack stood outside the hangar, awaiting the headlights in the distance. Rylee and Knockout had left with Snakesworth for some insurance thing, and everyone had assumed Knockout would be home within the same day. Apparently not, judging by Snakesworth's truck accelerating towards them, and Rylee riding shotgun. Rylee looked uneasy, and Jack frowned in response. _ Really hoping Miko's done her job as second lookout and warned the bots. Otherwise… Snakesworth will be walking into a big surprise. _Snakesworth and Rylee pulled up in front of the warehouse and both exited the vehicle, Rylee discreetly putting a lot of distance between her and the car fast.

"What happened?" Jack asked, stepping forward. "Where's… er… the racecar?"

"It stayed behind," Snakesworth smiled sleazily. "Frequent check-ins are required, where not only do they re-check that the vehicle is eligible to drive in NASCAR, but also do whatever maintenance it may need." He took off his hat. "But don't worry 'bout that, it'll be back tomorrow. In the meanwhile it was my pleasure to drive Miss Anders here back to the hangar." He held the hat out to Rylee with a smile, and Rylee returned a very strained one.

"Thank you," Rylee said, still smiling, but it looked more like if she were gritting her teeth. Rylee tried to skip forward to Jack before Snakesworth caught up to her and laid a hand on her shoulder, and she froze.

"Don't be afraid to catch a ride with me again. Anything for my star driver," he smiled, and Rylee looked visibly uneasy.

"Right," Jack said, stepping forward, trying to assess the situation. "Well, I think it's time _ we _ head back to the hangar, and _ you _head home." Snakesworth glowered at Jack and then finally let go and put his hat back onto his head, tilting it in courtesy before climbing back into his truck.

Rylee skipped ahead and ran up to Jack, putting her arm around his shoulder, turning him around and beelining them both back to the hangar. "Thank god you were out here. Snakesworth's a real creep," she said, under her breath. "Don't look back, just get to the hangar."  
Jack looked at Rylee in concern, debating whether to send a nasty look back at Snakesworth despite her request. "Why? What happened?" Jack responded in hushed tones.

"Nothing really 'happened'... the whole car ride was just as weird as that moment you witnessed just now. Just not very… _ proper _," she breathed. She then cursed under her breath. "I'm really missing Knockout right about now."

"Next time I'll come with you. Or call us to pick you up, maybe? We _ do _have a spare car and jet lying around."

"I was planning on doing that, but Snakesworth _ insisted _. He was already there, and apparently his place was along the way, so 'Why make them take two drives when I can just drop you off?'" Rylee shook her head. "Never again," she muttered.

They opened the hangar door to find Smokescreen and Thundercracker in vehicle mode, with Miko and Raf sitting on a couch off to the was intently focused on reading a paper, and a few more papers laid on Thundercracker's wing. Rylee headed right for the couch and plopped herself down between them, letting out a sigh. A few moments later Snakesworth's truck pulled up to the entrance of the hangar, and a very disbelieving Snakesworth stepped out.

"A jet? Since when do ya'll have a _ jet _ ?" Snakesworth cried out, walking up to Thundercracker. Buster appeared in the cockpit window, and Snakesworth jumped back. "And a _ dog _?"

"Yes, we do," Jack said simply. And as Snakesworth waited for a real answer, Jack gave none.

"Fine," he raised his hands in the air, and turned back towards his truck. "Whatever illegal things you're doing to obtain these items, I don't want to have any part of it. I _ will _drag you all down before any scandal even touches me, just reminding you."

"Right," Jack replied coldly, staring Snakesworth down as he entered his truck. At last he started the engine, tipped his hat at them all, and took off.

Finally Jack breathed out and quickly closed the hangar door. Thundercracker and Smokescreen transformed back into robot mode, and Thundercracker looked extremely intrigued.

"Who was that?" he asked, looking as if he were about to start taking down notes.

"Snakesworth. The guy funding this whole debacle," Jack responded, starting to brush his teeth using just a toothbrush, toothpaste and a water bottle. "It's already late, and I think we should all get ready for bed."

Thundercracker took a head count of everybody and his smile suddenly dropped. "Where's Knockout?"

"Had to stay behind for some insurance thing. He'll be spending a night alone in some garage… _ hopefully _he can handle it."

Thundercracker looked deeply troubled - more than the situation warranted.

"I see," he responded. "I have to make a call. I'll be back." As he walked to the hangar door, Rylee eyed him the entire time, a frown on her face. He exited the back door of the hangar and then closed it, and from behind the door you could hear the distinct transforming noise, and then the sound of a jet rolling away. _ A jet at a race track is still not very incognito, but I suppose it's considerably better than a robot walking around. _

"Where's he going?" Miko hopped up from the couch, waving a paper. "I never finished reading the rest of his script! Should I follow him?"

"Don't think that's a good idea if he's purposely leaving to be _ alone _," Jack remarked. "Add that it's nighttime, and may accidentally step on you if you're sneaking around in the dark."

"Personally, I don't think he would," Smokescreen responded, busy watching a show on his holopad. "I mean he's got a pet _ dog _. If he somehow hasn't crushed that small thing by now, I don't think any human's in danger."

"Okay, sure, whatever," Jack said, raising his hands. "Let's just leave him in peace and get to bed."

About twenty minutes later Thundercracker had still not returned, and most of 'Team Knockout' were in their sleeping places - Smokescreen and Miko fell asleep the second they laid down, but Raf was up reading a book in from inside his sleeping bag with a flashlight. Jack was about to enter his own sleeping bag when he noticed Rylee still awake, sitting atop the table drawing designs on her hand with marker. Despite the relaxing activity her foot tapped rapidly on the bench - _ she was nervous? _ Jack walked over to her.

"Hey Rylee." He sat down on the bench next to where her foot was tapping.

She looked up momentarily, then continued drawing on her hand. "Hi, Jack."

"I noticed you… aren't going to bed?" The knew question sounded weird, almost as if he were micromanaging the activities of the squad. He didn't care how late she stayed up, she was her own person. What he _ did _ care about was her mental health - and _ why _she was not going to sleep.

"Not tired," Rylee said simply, not looking up from her work.

"'Not tired?'" Jack replied. "I don't know, I think only tired people have dark circles under their eyes."

She promptly raised her hand to her face. "I do?" she asked concernedly.

"Yes, you do," Jack responded. "And you used to not. What happened? Why are you refusing to sleep?"

"I'm not _ refusing _, I -" she said indignantly, before cutting herself off. She then looked away from him, back to drawing on her hand. "It's nothing."

"...Right," Jack said. He felt bad about prodding… but he was concerned. "I also noticed something else. I've woken up a couple times in the early morning, and each time I've found you nowhere near your sleeping bag, and instead usually laying against Knockout's arm." Rylee froze, and Jack tilted his head. "Knockout's always the first one to fall asleep. 'Beauty rest' and all that he says, so you go over there after he's already asleep. So why -"

"Fine, fine! You got me! I'm not okay!" Rylee blurted out, lowering the marker. "You asked why? What happened? It's ridiculous, but _ Thundercracker _ happened!" She looked away from him. "I don't know, everytime I see him it's a reminder that a _ war _happened, and that people died, and that Knockout's hiding it from me and that - that -" the marker shook in her hand. "That Knockout may not be who he seems." She gripped the marker hard in her hand to stop it from shaking, and laid it down on the table. Jack laid a hand on hers to try and comfort her, but she pulled away. "Thank you for the concern, but I will be fine. I really will." She still hadn't looked back at him again.

"If you're afraid Knockout isn't who he seems, then why are you going to sleep by his side?" Jack asked.

"Because before that fear comes my fear of Thundercracker." She finally looked at Jack, and swiped away a stray tear on her cheek. "I know. You'll say 'Thundercracker? But he's so nice!' He _ is _, trust me…" for a second she looked as if she didn't know how to continue on. "I don't know what it is. He was the first Cybertronian to scare me. Things just don't… seem right with him."

"Knockout and Smokescreen listened to his backstory and verified that he's nothing to be afraid of, that he's genuinely working for the U.S. now. _ They _trust him… you don't?"

Rylee brought her legs up upon the table as well now, hugging them. "I told you before. I don't know what it is. To be honest, I think I'm just projecting my fear of _ all _ Cybertronians and the war onto him… and _ yes _ , he doesn't deserve that. But..." She then looked down at him, her voice now tense, and slightly hushed. "I had a dream the first night he showed up. I completely thought it was real, but… I suppose there's no way it could be. After that is when I started sleeping next to Knockout when scared of being alone. If Thundercracker ever _ did _go rogue…. Knockout's there, within arm's reach."

"What was the dream?" Jack asked softly.

"It's… silly," Rylee began. "I thought I was awake. Maybe I was drifting awake. I looked over and saw Thundercracker just… _ looking _at me from across the room, ominous red eyes in the darkness. I… panicked, but I wasn't fully awake yet, I guess. Because by the time I was and was able to sit up, I looked over and found him laid down facing away from me, with Buster fast asleep beside him." Rylee traced the lines of the drawing on her hand. "I don't know what that dream was about. Or if it was a dream… but it must've been, right? Anyways, after that is when I started sleeping beside Knockout. I'd try to get over my fear and sleep by myself… but it never worked out. A few hours of sleepless anxiety each night before finally breaking and taking refuge in the only thing that could feasibly stop Thundercracker." She wouldn't look up at him. "I know it sounds silly-"

"It doesn't," Jack responded, and took her hand and squeezed it to comfort her. This time she didn't pull away, and smiled. "Look, back when I first heard of Cybertronians, I was terrified. All of us were. Not necessarily of our own squad and more so of the vehicons that attacked us… but your fear still makes sense, and you're not alone."

She looked down at him. "How are _ you _not scared? Hell, you lived through a war!"

Jack laughed. "That's the thing. I lived through a war. The worst is behind us now, it has to be. I've stood against Megatron, Soundwave, Starscream… after witnessing them, any other fear becomes almost insignificant. Even Knockout was part of that list at one point but… well… he's obviously nothing to be feared anymore."

She finally let go of Jack's hand and got down from the table, taking the marker in her hands. "Right. I'll get used to it eventually."

"Where are you going now?" Jack asked.

"Finding something else to keep me busy."

Jack shook his head. "Rylee… you need _ sleep _. Now that Knockout isn't here for you to crash next to, I'm afraid you'll pull an all-nighter. And if Knockout isn't actually home by tomorrow? How many days in a row are you going to do that?"

"What am I supposed to do then?" Rylee sighed, exhausted. "Thundercracker's not even here. We don't know where he is. I guess I'd feel better knowing he's already asleep… but he's not."

"I have an idea," Jack raised a finger. "Not so much an idea but a suggestion. Come back to where you were originally going to sleep. We can switch spots, and you can have the one closer to Smokescreen. Now, he likes his personal space, and I don't think he'd be much of a fan of you laying on him… but if being nearby comforts you, I don't think he'd have a problem."

Rylee smiled, eyes starting to droop. "Thank you. I'll… I'll try it."

Soon the sleeping bags were arranged, and Rylee within ten feet of Smokescreen… not nearly as close as Knockout was in case of an emergency, but it would have to do. When Rylee was cuddled up within her sleeping bag, she still kept her tired eyes glued on the hangar door.

"Rylee," Jack finally said, laying in his own sleeping bag. "Do you want me to keep an eye out on the door? To stay awake until Thundercracker gets back?"

"You'd do that?" Rylee murmured, already starting to fall asleep. "Thank you…"

Jack nodded and turned over, keeping his eyes on the hangar door.

Rylee fell asleep soon after… and it was never Jack's intention to fall asleep on guard duty as well. But after only half an hour, he did.

And that was his first big mistake.


	27. L A M E N T

LAMENT - POV Starscream 

Starscream eyed the approaching orb in the dark expanse of space, the light from the local star illuminating its azule oceans and lands of brown and green. He never wanted to visit here again, especially not after Cybertron's revitalization. But somebody would have searched Darkmount eventually… and no amnesty would be granted to a Decepticon such as him.

Not that he wanted amnesty. No. He wanted to continue the fight… he refused to bend to the Autobots as Megatron had. He _ will _ rule the Decepticons… perhaps one day even Cybertron itself… and he _ will _do whatever it takes to get there. Right now that meant finding the legendary minicons, to attain power surpassing even the primes. He tracked them to this solar system before their signal disappeared. He assumed their path led them to Earth, as all things usually do for some reason. Starscream frowned at that atrocity of a planet. He hated it. Dirty and disgusting in almost every aspect… but he'd do what he must. He'd find the minicons. And finally people will take him seriously.

After staring at the Earth for a while, he realized he could also see his own reflection in the glass. He observed himself for a few moments. This upgrade to his old form would be enough to instill respect… but he needed _ more _. Sure, he was powerful. But not more powerful than the likes of Optimus Prime or Megatron. And he had to be.

The longer he stared at himself, the more it hurt. The reflection's colors were muted, and he was no longer looking at the black and primary colored seeker he knew himself to be… instead, in the blurry colorless outline, he recognized two others as well. If it weren't for the expression upon his face, he would've been unrecognizable from Skywarp or Thundercracker. Completely unrecognizable… and as much as it hated for him to admit it, but it _ hurt _.

_ This is why you were _ weak _ , Starscream. You cannot be again. When Megatron offered the frame change, the change to the _ much weaker _ frame, you gladly accepted. You didn't want to be reminded of the brothers you lost. But if you had kept your old body, perhaps one of your many coups against Megatron would've succeeded. Maybe you would've been respected… maybe you would've beat Megatron himself. _

_ But no time to linger on the past. Never again can I be weak. Never again will my suffering impede my progress towards my destiny. I will forget the past if that is what's required to forge the future. Nothing will stand in my way. _

And in an event of universally fateful timing, a single signal popped up on his radar. He distastefully eyed the signal, located in what the humans called "North America". It was in that general vicinity, but the machine was still attempting to close in on the actual location. Starscream's expression slowly turned from a scowl to one of overwhelming bewilderment as he actually looked closer at the radar. The signal disappeared as quickly as it appeared, with no clue as to location besides the entire continent. But it shattered Starscream's preconceptions nonetheless, and left him abashed. He recognized that signal.

That signal belonged to Thundercracker.


	28. Bring to Light - RYLEE - 25

CHAPTER 25 - POV Rylee 

_ It was a dream. She realized at least that much. And she only knew that because her father was there. _

_ And so was Jack, Miko, Raf, Smokescreen and Knockout. All smiling at her, beyond an invisible barrier. _

_ 'What's going on? Why are you smiling? And why am I not smiling back?' were questions she'd ask herself. Until slowly the dream took action. With a sad wave, her father - whose features she could barely distinguish - stepped back. And with that step, he slowly faded away. _

_ 'No!' she'd yell, but the rest just kept on smiling. And her protests did not stop the others from doing the same. First Jack stepped back, then Miko, Raf, Smokescreen and finally Knockout. 'No', she cried. 'Not you too. You promised me.' But Knockout didn't listen. He stepped back and turned to mist with the rest of them. Rylee, tormented, fell to her knees as the mist swirled around her - intangible. 'Bring them back. Bring them back. Please,' she'd say. _

_ But from the edges of the mist came a shape. Red eyes. Knockout? No. Rylee crawled back in terror. Thundercracker? No quite. Not enough blue. There was too much… too much _ **red** _ . _

She jumped awake in a cold sweat, her brain a fire of alarms. _ What woke me? _

She fully opened her eyes, looking up. _ Oh. _There was her answer.

Standing right above her in the lightless obscurity was Thundercracker, his glowing red optics piercing the darkness. She barely had time to panic - instead, she was trying to process if she was truly awake or not, since this was exactly the stuff of her nightmares. _ It's real. _

Rylee looked around her. Jack and Smokescreen were both asleep and out of arm's reach. Of course they are. Rylee cautiously extended her arm towards Smokescreen, but was promptly interrupted.

"I'm not here to hurt you," Thundercracker said quietly, like a whisper. "But you must come with me, and stay completely silent. Trust me, it's_ for your own good _ ." Thundercracker bent down a bit, the moonlight now illuminating his face. Rylee retracted her arm, hugging her own body instead. "I can't afford you waking the others. If you won't stay quiet, I'll _ make you _ stay quiet."

Rylee bit her lip and nodded up at him, and then looked back down at Jack with desperation. _ If only staring at you could wake you up. _

Thundercracker nodded and slowly headed toward the hangar door, eyes locked on Rylee's to make sure she was following. At last they were both outside, rain pouring down on them both. Thundercracker silently closed the hangar door behind them, and Rylee shivered. _ No going back, no running for help. This is it. And I sure hope he's as benevolent as he claims he is. _

He walked a few more steps before transforming into a jet, the cockpit popping open. "Get in."

Rylee hesitated, inching her way over as slowly as she could. A dog then jumped up on the seat, rain starting to soak her amber coat. But despite that, she wagged her tail happily and looked over at Rylee.

"And hurry," Thundercracker continued. "Buster's getting wet and I don't want her catching pneumonia."

Rylee cautiously stepped up and entered the jet, the glass hood closing down over her. She had never been in a jet before, and this definitely wasn't how she imagined her first time. Her soggy clothes soaked the seat, and Buster stood on Rylee's lap and started licking her face. Despite her terror, she smiled at Buster. If it weren't for her, she probably would've lost her mind already.

The console then lit up, and Thundercracker took off the ground startlingly fast. In seconds they were miles in air, and Rylee grew pale looking at the distance between her and the Earth. She took a deep breath, slightly shaking.

"It's called 'pneumonia', right?" Thundercracker asked absentmindedly. "I'm trying to learn the different organic diseases to keep her healthy. You guys have so much! How do you not worry all the time about getting sick or hurt? I suppose we _ do _have Cybercrosis, but…" he trailed off, then went silent. "Are you alright?"

_ Did he really just asked me if I was alright? He just _ kidnapped _ me. Of course I'm not. _"Where are we going?" Rylee shifted uncomfortably.

"Oh, that!" Thundercracker said. "Yes, um, well… you're going to see some people. I don't know if they want me to tell you until you get there."

"Am I going to die?" Rylee asked, voice slightly wavering.

"Die?!" Thundercracker dropped a few feet, presumably out of shock, but quickly caught himself. "Oh, I just realized you look absolutely terrified and that I really haven't explained much. Sorry for seeming so scary! I'm trying out effective threatening dialogue options for my new screenplay." Rylee noticed papers littered around the cockpit as well - newly printed to be small enough for Miko to read. "Trust me, you're not going to die. I work for the government and my job is to keep you safe, so the last thing you're going to do is _ die _ . I'm actually here to _ help _you." He then quietly added, "And please don't die while I'm watching you or I'm going to feel guilty and Marissa's never going to stop yelling at me."

"This is for my own good?" Rylee asked nervously, petting Buster. She felt more relieved than before, but she was still apprehensive as to where they were going and _ why _. "Am I ever going to see Knockout again?"

"Of course! Tomorrow! But only if you want to after what we show you."

"What… are you showing me?"  
Thundercracker sighed. "I'm not supposed to tell you this yet, but you're finally going to learn about the war. You deserve to know, especially if you're in close contact with an ex-Decepticon. Then decide if you actually want to go back to him. And, I suppose… let us know if he's actually _changed_."

"Okay," Rylee breathed, petting Buster. She dug her head in Buster's neck. _ Relax. Relax. Don't freak out. _"How did you end up with a pet dog?" Rylee asked, attempting to distract herself.

"Oh, she was a gift from Marissa!" Thundercracker said excitedly. "At the beginning of my… what should I call it… tenure on Earth, I watched a lot of TV while I was confined underground by the EDC. I had no contact with the outside world - and to be honest, I still don't really - and I absolutely adored the dogs in every single show I'd watch. I thought dogs were CGI, because I mean there's no way something that cute could exist! And then-!" He paused for a moment, overcome with excitement. "Marissa noticed how much I loved dogs, and gifted me Buster. She was a little puppy back then. They watched me to make sure I was treating the dog right… I think it was another one of their tests… but I guess I passed! They were so scared I would step on her within the first day. I would _ never _ . Buster is number one priority and because of her I've learned to be very, _ very _cautious."

"That's cute," Rylee allowed a small smile. Buster happily jumped onto her lap, and Rylee scratched behind her ears. "I was also wondering… how did you join the EDC in the first place? And leave the Decepticons?"

Thundercracker was silent for a moment. "I suppose I can tell you now. Even if you don't know much about the war." Rylee could sense his sudden mood change from merry to forlorn.

"During the war, I had two of what you'd call 'brothers'. They were my trine-mates, and we were the Seekers - an elite flying squad. It was me, Starscream and Skywarp. Skywarp's always mean and grouchy and Starscream overly ambitious and sly, but I loved them nonetheless. Well, one day the Nemesis - the main Decepticon ship - took a pit stop on Earth long before our war started here, looking for energon. You know what energon is, right?"

Rylee nodded, and Thundercracker continued. "Skywarp and I were tasked by Megatron to scout the area, and we tracked a large cache underneath one of your cities. It didn't look so big to me, but apparently it's one of your most heavily populated cities. I don't know what it's called, but I guess I'm glad I didn't blow it up."

"Blow it up?" Rylee emphasized, disbelieving.

"Yes! Haha, about that," Thundercracker began. "Standard Decepticon procedure for energon retrieval trapped under large structures is to destroy the structures above it - regardless of whether or not organic life inhabited it. I really think their procedure is in need of a drastic overhaul."

Rylee's jaw had dropped, but she quickly closed it and tried her hardest at maintaining a poker face. _ This is the Decepticons? This is what Knockout was part of? _

"Yes, well, Skywarp and I were sent down there to do that. We were perched on the hill, overlooking the city, setting up the city-rending cannon. I just remember looking at the cars passing by and the unique architecture and the humans laughting together and walking their dogs and wondering… how could I just destroy all this beauty in happiness? I couldn't do it. I have too much of a conscience, I suppose. Starscream always called that a weakness of mine. But is it really?" Thundercracker was silent for a moment. "I suppose it doesn't matter anymore."

"We were there together, and after Skywarp set up the cannon he laid back and waited for me to pull the trigger. I couldn't. He asked again and again and over and over I said I couldn't… I _ wouldn't… _ and he got mad." Thundercracker sighed. "He finally went to press the trigger himself and I wouldn't let him, and _ that's _ when he finally snapped. He started to fight me - which isn't much of a fight at all when you're outclassed at close combat. I was critically injured by him. I'd live, but he was disappointed in me, and ashamed. He'd threatened to report my 'betrayal' to Megatron… and for that? I would've been harshly punished. So at this point… I really didn't have much more to lose."

Thundercracker's tone had lowered exponentially throughout this ride alone. While at one point he sounded overly optimistic and joyful, he was now gravely solemn. If she were able to see his face, she was sure it would've held the same weight.

"That's when I fired," Thundercracker finally said. "Not at Skywarp… it would've been just a scratch, and they could've just sent someone else to finish the work he started. No, I fired at the cannon. The highly explosive cannon. The aftermath? The city was safe, but there was now a large crater in the hill, where Skywarp and the cannon used to be. I suppose I was far away to survive the blast, since the EDC found me not longer after, healed me and rehabilitated me. Skywarp? He was dust."

Thundercracker went quiet, and Rylee laid her hand on the console sympathetically. "I'm sorry. But thank you," she said softly.

"That's ok. I'm happier here on Earth than I ever was with the Decepticons. And Skywarp… let's just hope his loss was for the good of the universe. I couldn't bear it otherwise." Rylee noticed they had been circling in the air for a while now, but I seemed Thundercracker was finally reaching his destination. It looked like forests… _ Phoenix Ark? _ "You know, I don't think the Decepticons ever figured out what happened that day. And they couldn't use a mnemosurgeon to figure it out either because there were no dead bodies for them to steal memories from in the first place. We were both just… _ gone _."

Rylee hugged Buster and nodded somberly, and even Buster had laid her head down. Thundercracker then made a noise that sounded almost like clearing his throat. "Sorry about that, it's a lot. Knockout didn't want me spilling all the beans on day one and you know what? I can kinda see why! It's a little intense! Alright not as intense as the stories dealing with _ Overlord _, but…" Thundercracker gave a small chuckle. "Sorry. Trailing off again. We're here."

Rylee put he face to the glass and Thundercracker descended, and she could see a small fire in the middle of the midnight forest. And all around the campfire were people she didn't know, and a Cybertronian. She froze. _ Another one _?

As Thundercracker landed the cockpit popped open, and Buster jumped up and ran towards the unfamiliar brunette woman in a jumpsuit and started licking her. She, in turn, knelt down to pet Buster.

Rylee hopped out and landed in the dew-filled grass and Thundercracker transformed back to robot mode.

"Long time no see, Marissa," Thundercracker smiled, seemingly have shaken off his gloom. "Seems like Buster's missed you."

"Thundercracker, I saw you less than two weeks ago," the brunette - Marissa - laughed, still petting Buster.

"That's a long time for me!" Thundercracker said defensively yet facetiously.

As she drew closer, the bonfire illuminated the scene before her. Next to Marissa was a large container and a data chip, labelled "Rewind's War Archive". Next to the archive she recognized June Darby, no longer in nurse's attire, and frowning deeply.

Rylee looked up at the new Cybertronian. He was white and orange, and grumpily crossing his arms. _ Was that -? _

Rylee's train of thought was interrupted by a voice. A familiar one.

"Rylee."

She turned toward her, and as her eyes adjusted, she recognized the face. She'd known that face her whole life.

It was her mother.

"Hello, Rylee. I think there's a history lesson in order."

Author's Note

Here's a late Christmas gift, everyone! I genuinely planned to have the next chapter out yesterday, but unfortunately I ran out of time and didn't want to put out an unfinished chapter. I'm so grateful for all of you reading and commenting, and thank you! :)


	29. A Talk - KNOCKOUT - 26

CHAPTER 26 - POV Knockout 

Knockout arrived back at base a lot later than he anticipated.

Rylee was supposed to pick him up again at 5 AM. When she hadn't appeared, the inspectors needed him out of their garage for other inspections, and decided to take the drop-off into their own hands. He was now within a car carrier trailer, hopefully on his way back to base. _ Or they could be trying to steal me. I really, really don't have the patience for that right now. I might just have to step on them. _

Knockout's mind was littered with questions, though. First of all, how did they not notice he was… obviously not a real car? Did they just not care? Or were they foolish enough to not see the differences? Whatever, it didn't matter now. But the real question that plagued his mind was why Rylee had not picked him up. Sure, she may have overslept, or may have got caught up with something else, but it was 9:30 AM. It's been four and a half hours. Where was she? Did she... forget about him?

That was another thing that pained him. Being away. Sure, it was torture being stuck in a strange garage alone without anyone to talk to, but he worried for her sake as well. He never mentioned it to her, but he noticed her nervous breakdowns at night. Was she fine without him?  
_Of course she was. She's got Smokescreen and Thundercracker and all the kids there with her. Why would she need you? It's why she never picked you up, Knockout. She doesn't need you anymore._

Knockout shook away the foul thoughts as the car carrier stopped, and gently let him down in front of their hangar. The workers cautiously knocked on the door to the hangar, and after a minute or so a very tired Miko opened the door. She blinked, the sunlight blinding her. She obviously just woke up.

"We've got a car for… er… Rylee Amari?" the worker asked, looking at a clipboard. "Is she here?"

"Um…" Miko rubbed her eyes. "Is that Kno- I mean, the race car? You can leave him - _ it _, I mean - here."

"Yeah, but we need to see her to have her sign off on -" the worker began. "You know what, whatever. Sign here, it's your responsibility now. It's her fault for not picking up the car hours ago." Miko gleefully picked up the pen and put her signature down on the paper, a wild mess of jagged turns.

"Here's the keys. I -" he looked closer at the keys. "What is this? This isn't even the same brand as the car?"

"But it works, bro," Miko responded. "Just trust it." The worker shrugged and passed it off to Miko, who stuffed it in her pocket.

"Are you even old enough to drive?" He finally asked, taking his clipboard back. "How are you going to get it inside?"

"Wow, you think I look young? What a compliment," she said apathetically. "Thank you for the car, and goodbye." She curtly closed the hangar door. Knockout internally rolled his optics. _ Miko! Get back out here! _

The workers shrugged and took off, and after a few minutes of making sure there was nobody else around, Knockout transformed into robot mode and snuck inside, closing the door behind him.

"Miko! You just _ left _me out there?" Miko was back in her sleeping bag, drifting off to sleep already.

"Yes?" she responded, eyes still closed. "I can't _ drive _, can I? Do that yourself."

"Even _ I _know it's suspicious to leave an expensive race car just stranded outside." Knockout scanned the room.

Miko giggled. "'Expensive' race car. You really know how to compliment yourself."

"Are we _ actually _talking about this ag-" Knockout froze. Nervousness slowly found its way into his spark. "Miko. Where's Rylee?"

"Huh?" Miko looked up at him, squinting.

"Where's. Rylee?" Knockout asked, getting closer. Not only was her sleeping bag empty, but it was haphazardly thrown about, like she left in a rush.

"I don't know. I just woke up. She isn't here?" Miko sat up.

Knockout walked past her. "Jack. Jack, _ wake up _ ." Jack was fast asleep, next to Rylee's empty sleeping bag. After ignoring his orders, Knockout got fed up and lightly pushed Jack with his foot. "Jack. _ Wake. Up _."

Jack jumped awake, and a minute later found himself staring up at Knockout, who was crouched in front of him and frowning. "Wh. What? What'd you kick me for?"

"Jack, _ where is Rylee _?"

Jack blinked for a moment, getting his bearings. When what Knockout said finally hit him, his eyes grew wide and he turned to the sleeping bag next to him - empty.

"What? She's not here?" Jack asked frantically. He grabbed his head. "Oh god… did I fall asleep? I fell asleep. This is all my fault."

"What? What did you do?" Knockout growled.

"She asked me to stay awake for her." Jack got up and started searching around the hangar. "She wanted me to stay awake until Thundercracker got back, because she was afraid. And I stayed awake… for a little but… but I guess I fell asleep because now I'm waking up and both Rylee _ and _Thundercracker seem to be gone and -"

"'Got _ back _?'" Knockout asked. "Thundercracker went somewhere? Did he tell you where or why?"

"Ah… no. He just left. He just…" Jack grabbed his head again. "I can't believe this. Do you think Thundercracker did something with Rylee?"

"Wherever Rylee is, she's in danger," Knockout said sternly, heading to the hangar door. "We have to go find her and -" Just as Knockout got to the door, the loud noise of a jet echoed above the hangar, and in a few seconds it could be heard landing right outside. Knockout's optics grew wide, and he quickly threw open the door. There was Thundercracker, right in front of the hangar. And climbing out of the cockpit was…

_ Rylee? _

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" Thundercracker said quietly. "What if things get tense and -"

"I'll be fine, Thundercracker," Rylee said quietly in response, a certain solemnity in her voice. "What I need now is privacy."

Rylee's feet touched the ground and Thundercracker took off, now a speck in the distance. She walked toward him, but wouldn't look up at him.

"Rylee!" Knockout ran toward her, full of nervous joy. He had no clue what was going on, but she was back and safe and that was all that mattered. "You're alive! We were about to start looking for you!"

"Yeah, I'm alive," Rylee said bitterly, not looking up at him still. There was something in her voice he couldn't quite place… it sounded as if she'd been _ betrayed _ . _ What happened? _

She walked right past him, to the entrance of the hangar. Finally, she looked up at him. But somehow that made everything worse. Because those eyes were filled not with hatred… but of _ hurt _. She looked at him in a way she had never before.

And slowly… Knockout realized… it was because she was _ looking at him _ . The _ real _ him. For the first time. Anxiety gripped his spark… he didn't want to believe it. But deep down he knew. He knew that _ she knew. _

"Knockout?" Rylee breathed out, that one word trying to contain an expanse of emotion. A look of hopelessness. Her face then hardened, her eyes taking on needles that stung him. "Knockout," she locked eyes with him again, a certain remorseful resolve. "We need to talk."

Author's Note

Sorry I took so long to update but I'm back! Thanks for reading!


	30. A Decepticon's Truth - JACK - 27

CHAPTER 27 - POV Jack 

Knockout smiled, but it was obvious he was on edge. "Yes? What did you want to talk to me about?"

Jack looked back at Rylee. He had never seen her so serious. Most of the time she was smiling, brushing off inconveniences and looking at everything in a positive light. But something was different now. It was as if she'd been plunged into darkness, and it lingered with her.

"Tell me, Knockout," she looked up in a stern yet worried manner. "Why did you join the Autobots?"

"That's… that's easy!" Knockout laughed nervously. "I wanted to do the right thing. Obviously."

"Really?" she said simply, and a long silence followed. Knockout fidgeted.

"Yes. Why?"

"I don't know. It just doesn't seem to add up with things you've said earlier." She frowned at him, and Knockout couldn't meet her eyes for a moment.

"Rylee? Uh… what's up?" Jack finally stepped forward, looking at her with concern.

"Knockout?" Rylee said, and Knockout finally looked back at her.

"Yes?"

"Tell me about the war."

Knockout looked paralyzed for a moment. "Now? I… well, I really -"

"We all know Knockout's not going to say anything," Jack said. "If you want to know about the war that badly, I'll-"

"No," Rylee cut off. "I need to hear Knockout say it." She looked up at him, and Knockout was still frozen. He now had a haunted expression.  
"Rylee…" he trailed off, face aghast. "Where have you been?"

"It doesn't really matter, does it?" Rylee clenched her fists, but kept a straight face. "What matters now - more than anything - is _ telling me about the war _."

"I mean, I really don't know…" Knockout trailed off, looking away. "Our second to last championship race is tomorrow. Shouldn't we focus on that?"

"_ No _ , Knockout," Rylee said pointedly. "We need to focus on the _ war _ . Maybe even get to your _ involvement _."

"I - I don't know. I don't think that's a good idea," Knockout looked like he was melting under her gaze.

"So that's it?"

"What?"

"That's your final answer - No? You won't tell me about the war?"

Knockout hesitated, like he was fighting with some inner part of himself. He finally looked down, defeated. "I can't."

Rylee stared at him for a few more seconds, and he refused to look up. Everyone in the hangar remained silent. Her expression slightly softened to a more sorrowful one, but she kept her resolve.

"Okay," Rylee said, picking up her bags and stuffing her items into them. "If that's your answer, I have to go."

Knockout looked up with pure alarm in his optics, and the kids gasped as well.

"Leave? Why? But we're…" Knockout seemed to be looking for the right words. "The championship is soon!"

"I know it's soon," Rylee wouldn't look at him as she stuffed her sleeping bag into her pack. "You'll have to do it without me."

"What?" Knockout cried out. "You really can't - all right, what if I told you _ later _? Maybe like... after the race?"

"That would be good," Rylee met his eyes. "Except there is no later, is there? You never plan on telling me. Why? What are you so afraid of?" Knockout stood there silently, a look of conflicted sorrow on his face. But he said nothing. "Right." She looked away, stuffing her last items in her bag. "You see, I already know about the war. As you've guessed, that's what I've learned about last night. And let me be honest -" she looked up at him, her expression a mixture of fear and remorse. "It was _ horrifying _ . It was. Everything that's been done. Especially against my kind. And I know for a fact _ you've _ killed hundreds." Knockout looked away, ashamed. His optics were glued to the floor, and only a shadow of his face remained. "But -" she continued, Knockout still not meeting her eyes. "It wasn't all you, of course. Megatron's mostly to blame. I mean, he started it all, didn't he? You were just a follower. A deluded, misguided one, but a follower nonetheless. When it comes down to it, I can be angry, but I definitely can't place the blame of the whole war on you." She then looked down. "But here's the thing: if you had told me yourself, I would've been completely fine with it all. I'd be horrified, sure, but I'd accept that the past is the past, and help you in your reach for redemption." Rylee turned towards the exit, her face now obscured in shadows as well. "But the thing is, you didn't. You didn't tell me. And you never planned on telling me. I had to learn from some - some - some _ government intervention team _ ! You were prepared to let me keep believing a lie. Don't you think I deserve to know if my racing partner has a habit of _ genocide _?" Knockout lowered his head more. His face wasn't visible, but his body language conveyed that he was absolutely miserable. But he said nothing.

Rylee looked back at him for a few moments, and was only met with silence. She then started walking towards the exit. "I don't want to leave you, Knockout, but you're giving me no choice here. I want to trust you. But I can't." She opened the hangar door and stopped, hand gripping the frame. And she stood still for a few moments. "I know how dangerous you can be. And I'm fine with that. I am! But the threat of danger coupled with only deceit and untruths?" She finally looked back. Her eyes were heavy with unspilled tears and her lip was trembling. "It's too much Knockout. I'm sorry. It's too much for me."

Knockout still didn't respond. He was almost completely turned away now - he didn't dare look back. Rylee bit her lip and turned again towards the exit.

"Goodbye, Knockout." Rylee tried to keep it together, but her trembling voice caught in her throat. "I've realized - I think I now understand why you were called a _ 'Decepticon' _." With that final statement she left, shutting the hangar door behind her.

They all stood in silence for a few moments, disbelieving of the event that just transpired before them. Jack frowned, lost in thought - all of them were._ I should've told her. _ We _ should've told her a long time ago. But no… that wouldn't work. It had to be him. It always did. And while she's completely in the right by leaving… everything we've worked towards is now going to fall right through our fingers because Knockout wouldn't tell the truth? _

Jack's thoughts were interrupted by a soft voice, repeating words silently but hysterically. Knockout was on the floor, leaning against the wall, head in his hands. His words were meant for none but himself, which he quietly repeated with a sense of horror.

"Oh god. What have I done. What have I done. What have I done."

Jack frowned at Knockout, stepped heavily towards him. "Really?"

Knockout looked up quickly, broken from his trance. "What?"

Jack scowled. "I can't tell if you're pretending to feel guilty, or if you're just horrified you blew your last chance at racing big-time. It was your conscious decision to not tell her. This is what you get from it. Why hide it from her? _ Why _? She'd find out eventually. Did you really not care at all about her? Did you just want to bring her suffering?"

"I wanted the opposite!" Knockout yelled finally, stomping his foot. Jack stepped back cautiously, the shockwaves almost throwing him off balance. "You wanted to tell her the truth. And all I wanted was for her to not hate me. I didn't want to lose her. So I _couldn't _tell her. No matter how hard I tried."  
"Yeah," Jack's face scrunched up. "You didn't want her to hate you just so you could use her for racing. Find someone naive and innocent enough to be accomplice to someone with so much blood on their hands. Someone who didn't ask questions. Well, you used all her kindness up. I'm sorry, but you can't manipulate -"

"Stop! Stop!" Knockout cried, burying his face in his hands again. "I didn't - I didn't _ mean _to. You're wrong. This isn't about racing anymore. None of it is."

Jack fell silent. Miko and Raf stood on the sidelines, watching but not intervening, and Smokescreen looked on with a wince on his face. He looked back at Knockout, frozen in his moment of anguish. And his face softened.

"You actually care about her, don't you?"

Knockout painedly looked up at him. He looked lost, like he no longer had an objective in this world. He said nothing; but his eyes said it all - _ Yes _.

Jack looked away. "If you really care, you'd tell her the truth. No matter how hard it hurts."

"I know. I realize that now," Knockout said finally, his head hung low. "But it's too late."

Jack walked back up to him. "It's _ never _ too late. Knockout, she was _ waiting _ for you to say something. She wanted to stay. I could see it in her eyes. But you gave her no choice when you refused to say _ anything _ ." Jack walked up to him, softly placing a hand on his foot. "Go find her. And tell her the truth. That's all she wants, Knockout. The _ truth _ . And from _ you _."

Knockout looked up at him. "What are you saying? She's already _ left _. I don't know where she is. There's nothing more for me to do."

"Actually, there's a high probability she's heading towards the airport right now," Raf stepped forward, adjusting his glasses. "It's the fastest way back home, and there's only one in close proximity to us. And there are only a few main roads that lead there - you can't go wrong whichever one you take, because either way you'll meet her _ there _."

Knockout looked at Raf for a few moments, as if assessing the possibility, but the longer he sat there the less confidence he had.

"Hey! KO!" Miko finally ran over, knocking on Knockout's arm. "Stop moping and go _ find _her! You're running out of time!"

"But…" Knockout trailed off. "I don't think she wants to see -"

"Shut up," Miko cut him off, and Knockout frowned at her. "She does. You and her both know that, so stop being a _ dumbo _ and _ hurry up _ out of here!"

"And what if I don't go?" Knockout replied scornfully.

"Then not only will you lose the _ race _ , but you'll lose _ her _. For a very stupid reason." She then kicked him, and Knockout over-exaggeratedly gasped. "Now go!"

"Careful, this paint job is precious!" Knockout grumbled at her, swiping at where she kicked him. He then slowly started to stand up. "And god, you're so annoying."

"It's my superpower," Miko smiled. "Now seriously, _ go _!"

Knockout shambled towards the exit and pulled open the hangar door, but then stopped. He stood there for a moment, looking off into the distance - the same way Rylee had. The sky was gray, a light rain had just begun. Knockout looked back at them.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Knockout said faintly. "You say she doesn't really hate me. But what if… what if I go there, and she really does?" He gripped the door. "I don't think I'd be able to take it. I'd rather have just stayed here."

"But if she doesn't hate you?" Jack said softly, the wind-whipped rain chilling him. "Not going… you'd just be letting her go. At this point, you have nothing more to lose."

Knockout looked down for a long moment. The rain lapped his feet, and an ominous wind whistled throughout the hangar. He finally looked back at them all, a new spark in his eyes. And he smiled. "Don't worry. Everything will be alright." He looked back off into the distance again, silently adding "_ It has to be. Or I don't know what I'd do _." He then ran forward, diving and transforming into a car. He sped off, breaking through the gate and tearing off down the road - soon the only thing left was the wake of his exhaust.

"He never even asked me where the airport is…" Raf said lowly. "He's also… _ definitely _breaking the speed limit. Are we sure this is a good idea?"

"A good idea?" he looked down at him. "When has any of this been a good idea?" Jack laughed. He then nodded. "As for this… let's hope it's a good idea. It seems like a good idea." He looked off in the distance, and could see the faint trace of Knockout racing through the hills. "But really, how could we know what consequences it'll bring?"

Author's Note

Hey everyone, thanks for reading! Hopefully the next chapter will be out soon. We're reaching the end chapters now! And while there's at least 10 chapters left, they're all long and a bit harder to write, but hopefully I'll have them out quickly!


	31. One Question - RYLEE - 28

Chapter 28 - POV Rylee

Rain poured down from the sky, lapping the windows of the cab that Rylee laid her head upon. It was overcast, and fog heavily obscured her view. It was a shame, it would likely be this dark and gloomy until night, which was only a few hours from then. The window glass she laid her cheek on was freezing, but she ignored the sensation. The cab driver kept looking back at her in the front mirror concernedly, but said nothing. She turned her attention back to the weather outside. She had too much to think about. And to keep herself from thinking, she'd focus on the most mundane thing possible - the weather. The rain. The fog. Sunset would be soon - not that it mattered, since it felt like dusk already.

"Hey," the cab driver called, and Rylee broke out of her trance and looked up at him. "Are… are you okay? Something happen? You seem kind of down." Rylee hesitated, and he continued. "And are you the famous racer? Rylee Amari? I don't know if you get out much, but the people of this town love you."

Rylee couldn't muster a chuckle, but did the closest she could, and smiled. "Me? Why?"

"You're the underdog! A girl, coming out of nowhere, beating all the trained professionals that have been doing it for years? You really showed 'em all up, especially the arrogant ones." Rylee smiled, but in a way it was also pained. _Thanks. But it was all practically Knockout. What use am I, really?_

"So…" the man continued after her silence. "We're heading to the airport. One of your championship games is tomorrow. You uh… pickin' someone up?"

"No," Rylee said, continuing to look out the window.

"I see," the man said and was silent for a while. Rylee looked out the window. She could barely make out the environment, but it looked like they were passing by Phoenix Ark. He took the right road, then. "You ah… have a fight with your crewmates? Your sponsor?"

Rylee chuckled lightly. "You could say that."

"Hmm," he said, and they kept driving in the downpour for a while, before he finally continued. "I hope you change your mind. You're an inspiration to us all."

"You don't understand!" Rylee had a brief flash of anger, but it quickly subsided. She unclenched her fists and laid her cheek against the glass again. "I'm sorry. I don't _want _to leave. But I don't have much choice." He grunted in recognition, but she had the feeling she disappointed him. _Not the first person I've disappointed._ What else could she do, though? If she stayed, nothing would've changed. She would have remained compliant to someone she completely trusted… that was lying right to her face. She just couldn't do it. Something had to give.

A car came racing out of nowhere, obnoxious honking emanating from it. Rylee looked back - it was Knockout. She didn't know whether to feel surprised or not. Similarly, she didn't know whether to feel relief or to feel dread. In fact, it was a bit of all of them.

"Ey! Who's that jerk?" the cab driver looked back at Knockout, who was tailgating them, with a scowl. His eyes then widened. "Is that… a race car? Is that _your _race car?" Knockout quickly passed them up and decelerated in front of them, forcing them to slow their speed exponentially, and kept honking.

"What's that guy's problem?" he scowled again. "Alright, I'm gonna pass him."

"No. Stop the car."

The cab driver slowed the car and looked back at her in surprise. "What?"

"Stop the car. I'll pay you full wage, just leave me here."

He looked conflicted. "Are you sure? It's… miles to civilization. There's practically no cell phone reception. This doesn't feel the safest place to drop you off." He then looked forward at Knockout. "Or the safest place to commune with people you were just fighting with."

Rylee sighed. "Thank you. But I'm okay. Despite everything, I trust him."

"Hmm." He continued, but finally he lowered his head and stopped the car. "Fine. Fine. I just really… don't want to find you dead on the news a week from now. I don't want that on my conscience… knowing _I _left you here and did nothing about it."

Rylee smiled and touched his shoulder, and he looked back at her. "Thank you. I'll be fine. If he really wanted me dead, I'd already be." She passed him the fare, and promptly stepped out of the car. The cab driver looked at the dollar bills with the expression of slight dread, like he just accepted blood money. But he lowered his hat in salute to her, and took off. Rylee waved goodbye and he smiled in response: until he caught sight of Knockout - particularly, how he had no driver. Despite his expression of consternation, he didn't turn around. He kept going, until it was just Rylee and Knockout.

Rylee sternly crossed her arms and slowly walked up to him, the rain thoroughly soaking her. "What are you doing here, Knockout?"

"I… I came to say…" she could hear a certain pain in his voice, despite not being able to see his face. "Um… You look miserable. Why don't you get inside?"

"No thanks."  
"The rain can't be good for you, though. And in the cold? You'll catch, er… Thundercracker told me about it. New-loan-ya."

"Pneumonia. And I'm good." The rain soaked her socks now. Yeah, she didn't know how long she'd truly be 'good' for. Walking miles in this weather could be nothing but bad for her health.

Knockout transformed to robot mode, a look of desperation in his face, and Rylee's eyes went wide. "Knockout!" she hissed. "We're on a public road!"

"You may not trust me enough to… ah… _get in_, but at least come with me to the forest to find cover. I know you're angry at me but putting your health in jeopardy isn't the answer." He walked past her into the forest. Rylee sighed. He was right. But he wouldn't be putting her life in jeopardy in the first place if he hadn't stopped her car… and to a greater extent, even dragged her to NASCAR in the first place. She begrudgingly followed him. Their trek up the mountain was a bit of a long one, and silent for the most part. At one point Knockout asked if he could carry her, or at least shield her from the rain. She refused. She made sure to maintain a distance between them. Finally as they got to their destination, Rylee realized she recognized where they were. The last time they were at Phoenix Ark together, they sat at that one boulder by the cliff and had their talk. Knockout moved past the boulder however, and to an outcropping beside it. There, the cliff above shielded from the rain. Knockout excitedly gestured to a boulder beside him, and he sat down. Rylee resentfully sat beside him, hugging her knees on the boulder. They were practically at eye level now - one of the few times they'd ever been.

"So… what is it? What is it you tracked me down to say that you couldn't say at base?" Rylee finally broke the silence.

"I… well… I…" Knockout gaped. "Were you actually heading to the airport?"

"Maybe." Rylee looked off in the distance. "How did you know I was here? Passing by Phoenix Ark, I mean."

"I didn't," Knockout said wistfully. "I just… I hoped."

The edge of Rylee's mouth curled into a smile, but she quickly hid it. "Well. You found me. What next? Because as of now, after this conversation I'm still planning on walking right to the airport, rain be damned."

Knockout looked a bit lost. "Rye… I'm sorry. I should've told you a long time ago, and I should've told you back at the hangar, it was just that I… I…" He looked away. He seemed like he couldn't find the words.

Rylee lightly touched his shoulder, and finally allowed a smile. "It's okay. I know. Miko had me on speaker after I left."

Knockout looked back at her with alarm. "_What_?"

"Immediately after I left, she called me. When she finally gave up on begging me to come back, she told me to just listen. I didn't know what I was listening for… until I heard _you_."

Knockout squirmed. "That's… that's _not right_. What if I had said something embarrassing?" His optics went wide. "I _did _say something embarrassing," he said quietly, in horror, now covering his face with his hands.

Rylee barely contained a giggle. "Knockout, I think that's the _point_. I know you probably couldn't bring yourself to personally tell me that stuff, for some reason. But just hearing you say it at all…" She looked out into the distance, to the city… to the lights of the airport, where she was supposed to be right now. "It gave me hope." She then gravely looked back at Knockout, who had an ambivalent expression. "I can understand your past hesitation now. But that doesn't change the fact that you still haven't told me anything. Or given proof that I can trust you to be truthful with me in the future."

Knockout perked up. "Okay. Alright! Ask me anything! I'm an open book."

"Really?"

"Yes. Explaining the whole war's obviously a tough one… but now that you _know _the whole story… well…" Knockout tilted his head. "Ask anything, from morbid to scandalous to insipid. I'll answer all. Want to know my formula for Synth-En? Sure. How much energon is consumed per second powering the nemesis? Got that. How many Iacon relics I've stolen from the Autobots? I always keep that number at the top of my head. Why I joined the Decepticons? Long story, but we'll have time. And how…" he hesitated, and looked down. "_How many people have I killed?_" He tapped his finger on his knee, looking regretful. "That's a harder one, but I'll find an answer."

"Anything?" she leaned closer. "Is this just a one-time thing?"

"No," Knockout finally shook his head, still avoiding eye contact. "Ask any time. Whatever it takes to earn back your trust."

"In that case, most questions of mine can wait!" Rylee smiled.

"_Most_?" Knockout asked inquisitively, but relieved.

"Yes," Rylee smirked mischievously. "I have one. Did you really get stuck in a wall?"

"Agh!" Knockout grabbed his head. "That dimwit Smokescreen trapped me in there! It wasn't my fault!"

"Yeah, you've said that before, but you made it sound like he had the advantage. He was literally_ locked up_ and somehow he got free and trapped you with your own device?" Rylee laughed.

"Jeez, how in depth did they make your little history run-down?" Knockout said painedly, but then laughed.

"It was enough. They tried to focus on you, but… well, Autobots honestly don't know much about you." They both sat there in silence, Rylee casually swinging her legs off the boulder.

"Are you sure that was your only question?" Knockout asked softly. "That was… well that was more of a joke. Think of the things you've asked me and I've avoided. I'll answer them all right now, I'll come clean. And after that, if you still want to go to the airport, I'll drive you there myself."

"The questions can be answered another day. All I needed to know is that they'll be answered _one _day." Rylee sighed, but smiled. "I'm not going to the airport. The second I saw you in the rear view mirror, I knew there was no way I could leave." She looked up at him. "I've never… had someone care about me enough to come after me. I'm always so used to being left behind." Rylee soon realized that the drop that fell upon her hand was not rain, but a tear. She felt her face, and quickly wiped it all away. "Ah. Jeez. I'm getting overly sentimental." Knockout said nothing for a while, and when she finally glanced back at him, he had the strangest expression on his face. It was anguish and euphoria, guilt and pride. He had a small smile, but his eyes contained an emotion unfamiliar to her.

"I already promised I wouldn't leave you, Rylee," Knockout finally said, smiling. "You think I'm a liar?"

Rylee snorted, and then immediately covered her lower face, hiding her grin. "Hah! You know what, I think I _might _just believe you now."

They both sat there in a somber bliss, watching as the heavens poured down on the Earth and the sky grew darker. The song of the forest emanated around them, the repetitive _thum _of rain hitting soil putting Rylee's mind at ease. Cooped up in the hangar for weeks at a time… unreasonably stressing about Thundercracker for a whole week… out here, in the rain with Knockout, all her problems seemed to melt away. Despite everything that transpired that day, this was the most calm she'd been in a long, long time.

"Well. You ready to go back?" Rylee moved to get up from the boulder, but Knockout stopped her.

"Wait."

"What is it?" She glanced at him - his expression was filled with both guilt and determination.

"I know I… and Thundercracker… and Smokescreen… all of us have kind of been freaking you out. And I never really thought too much about it, shrugged it off and waited for you to get over it. And well, you have, mostly, but I was kind of unfairly expecting a lot from you. A lot of trust, courage, etcetera. I only realized how freaky it must be when I imagined being at the mercy of the likes of Menasor or Trypticon. Now that's pretty scary!"

Rylee smiled reassuringly. "Knockout, it's okay. I can be fazed… _very _fazed every now and then, but I'm used to it by now. I -"

"No, Rylee, wait," Knockout interrupted. "It's not okay. I _know _it's not, and that's okay. And it's alright to be scared. Primus knows I'm the biggest coward on Cybertron." He took a strange device out of a compartment. "Fear can get the better of you when you feel you have no control." He held out a small circle to Rylee, about the size of a tablet. Rylee gingerly took it, and weighed it in her hands. It was obviously Cybertronian tech, and surprisingly lightweight.

"What is it?" she looked up at him, confused.

"It's Smokescreen's Elite Guard beacon. One tap of an emergency call and you can have all of Cybertron's Elite Guard on your location in an instant."

"What?" Rylee quickly tried to hand it back to Knockout. "I don't want to call the Elite Guard? Won't they arrest you?"  
"_Yes_," Knockout pushed it back towards Rylee. "But the important thing is you'll be _safe_. If you ever feel endangered for any reason… by _anyone… _even _me_... don't hesitate to call. I've seen what it's like being stuck in a situation you can't get yourself out of. _There's your way out_."

Rylee looked at Knockout painedly, and he met her eyes with confidence. She finally took the device, and her hand hovered over the button. "And what if I called them right now? What then?" She tried to say confidently, but she knew he could see right through her bluster of an act.

Knockout shrugged and somberly smiled. "If you called them, they'd come. There's nothing I'm going to do about it. And I'd stay here with you until they arrived." They kept eye contact for a long time, before Rylee finally dropped her hand and her head, hair obscuring her face.

"You know I can't call them," Rylee placed the device on the boulder, attempting to put distance between her and it. "Even if I wanted to… I just couldn't bring myself to do it."

"You might think it's cowardly to save yourself or to ask for help. But sometimes, it's the bravest thing you can do." Knockout picked up the device and Rylee looked up at him. "Hold out your arm." Rylee held out her arm, and Knockout placed the device above it. With the click of a button, the device molded to fit her wrist.

"You're getting unusually philosophical" she smirked. "Are you still Knockout?"

"Hey, I've been around millions of years. You pick up some things," Knockout winked.

Rylee shook the wristband, but it stayed cemented in place. "Interesting. I hardly even notice it's there," Rylee remarked. "How, ah, do I remove it?"

"I'll tell you in a few days after you've promised not to take it off and 'accidentally' drop it into the nearest pond," Knockout smiles. "Not that that would do anything. Cybertronian tech is waterproof. You'd need something more along the lines of heavy artillery to destroy that thing."

She turned to him. "Wait, does Smokescreen even know I have this? Wasn't he supposed to get this back a while ago?"

"Nah, it's fine," Knockout waved her off. "I'm not gonna make it easier for him to betray us. Besides, I think the Autobots would all agree this is a far better use for it."

Rylee nodded and looked down at her device. It was all in Cybertronian, unreadable to her. But there were a few different circles she could press on the touchpad. "I'm assuming the big red button is the 'Elite Guard emergency call'?"

Knockout nodded. "The rest are things like data logs and communications, and I _tried _to get into that… but unfortunately it's password locked. Boo."

Rylee absentmindedly traced the outline of the device as the sun set lower on the horizon. There was now only a light sprinkle, and the gloom of the rain had lifted. However the Earth was just as dark - for the world was trading the darkness of a temporary rainfall for the darkness of a long, cold night.

"Want to head back now? We've been out here for a while."

Rylee clenched and unclenched her fist, trying to shake off her butterflies. "In a second. One last question. The question I was actually going to ask earlier. The same one you never answered for Jack."  
Knockout leaned closer, thoroughly curious. "What? What is it?"

"Do you _actually? _Care about me, I mean?" She couldn't meet his eyes at first, but eventually she could meet his gaze. He looked touched, but he also looked at her as if she asked the most obvious question in the world.

He smiled.

"I always have."

Author's Note

Hey all, thanks for reading! I honestly never imagined myself writing this far into my story, but I'm glad I stuck with it, because we're reaching the end now! Don't get me wrong, there's still about at least 10 chapters left, but things start moving fast. And the chapters will start to become longer as well, so unfortunately it may take a while if I'm feeling unmotivated. But I promise I WILL finish it, whatever it takes. Thanks again for reading!


	32. Unearthed - KNOCKOUT - 29

Chapter 29 - POV Knockout 

That day had been quite a long one, and it was about to get much longer. Somehow, Knockout got the feeling that the rest of the week would be like this as well.

He and Rylee arrived back at the hangar after their chat, just in time to get ready for their pre-championship race. Although they wouldn't admit it, it seems the kids weren't actually expecting Rylee to come back with him - given the look of surprise on all their faces when she set foot outside the car door. After a quick gathering and catching-up on everything that had transpired, they soon had to rush to get prepared for the race. It also seemed that none of them had expected to actually _ race _that day either, after everything that had happened. He could tell because Smokescreen and Miko didn't go to the dry cleaner's to prepare their uniforms like they had promised they would. Their lack of faith irked him… but he understood. He was surprised Rylee came back with him as well.

After rushing to put on dirty uniforms and prepare the pit crew, they were ready with 30 minutes to kill. Miko, Jack and Raf were busy setting up appearances - Knockout never once stopped for a pit stop, but if they didn't have a presentable crew, then it would look suspicious. Smokescreen was out scouting Phoenix Ark for signs of Thundercracker. Rylee and Knockout were still at the hangar, but not for long. Currently, she was putting some last minute polishes on Knockout, but soon he and Rylee would have to go out there and do their regular photo shoot - pose for a few photos, say a few things, promote the brand. Which Rylee wasn't particularly keen on.

"It's bad enough I have to put on a show for the reporters and pose like a doll for the cameras," Rylee grumbled, grabbing a rag and polisher from a shelf. "But the fact that I have to lie about Bigham? Lying about… well… _ you _is okay for me. Not really hurting anyone. But I hate creating false confidence and rallying support behind something that is hurting people."

"Uhh," Knockout said, as Rylee poured polisher on the rag. "You'll have to enlighten me. You've complained about it before, but what _ exactly _has Bigham done?"

"It's what they have and haven't been doing. They're an oil company." Rylee frowned and started polishing Knockout's hood, the bright _ 84 _shining back up at her. "They support an unsustainable energy source that's killing our planet, and lobby the government to pass laws in favor of their profits rather than the wellbeing of everyone."

"I… suppose that's bad," Knockout said. "I never had that problem on Cybertron, so it's harder to put it into perspective. You talk like you have something personal against them, though…?"

"Well, yeah. Snakesworth alone makes me want to throw the company in the trash can. But really, it's what he has me say on the cameras. I'm out there basically working PR for them, lying to the public about their charities and covering up their scandals."

"What's 'PR'?"

"Public relations," Rylee sighed, polishing the roof of the car. "Remember last week, when I had to make a huge point about Bigham cutting emissions by 45% this year? That was a big fat lie. I did the research. They increased emissions by 22% - they only cut emissions by that amount in one city - this city. I suppose, legally, Bingham Oil Co can claim I was talking to the people of this city, and that it was only a coincidence my words were aired nationally. Or if there was actually a lawsuit, they could try to throw me under the bus." Rylee clenched her hands. "I just hate the loopholes and the… I just feel like I'm the the right hand of the devil and it's _ exhausting _. Can you imagine if we actually win the entire thing? Can you imagine the kind of undeserved money and recognition the company will get? It's like feeding a monster."

"That's an interesting take on the situation," Knockout hummed. "And I agree with you." He actually now had an idea, but was going to keep it a secret for now. He'd have to talk with the kids and see if they were on board as well - and if it was a _ good _ idea. Knockout didn't know much about the human legal system, but even _ he _ knew there was bound to be some consequences. He looked back at Rylee, who was furiously scrubbing grime off his wheels. Knockout got the feeling she would agree with his idea, though, even if she couldn't work up the courage to do it herself. "What would happen if you just… stopped representing them? Why do you even have to anymore? I mean you're _ in _the race, they've paid all the fees already"

"Legal things. I'm not sure," she grumbled. "When I signed on with them I agreed to represent them the whole time. If I stopped now, after they already invested in me, they'd for sure take some sort of action against me and probably make me pay some exorbitant fee. While I hate this, I'm not about to make our quest a billion times more difficult." Knockout hummed in recognition, and they were both silent for a bit.

Rylee then slapped the hood of the car. "Done. You can stretch for a bit before the race if you want, we've got ten minutes still."

Knockout transformed and sat on the floor. "You know, I'm just as comfortable in vehicle mode as in robot mode. If I had to 'stretch' after being in vehicle mode for half an hour, I'd have terrible cramps after a race or a night resting as a vehicle."

Rylee shrugged and put the items away. "Hey, just trying to help."

Knockout looked over his own coat - he was now so shiny he almost blinded himself. It was… _ amazing _.

"I don't think I say it enough, but _ thank you _ for this. I look _ wonderful _. I'd have it no other way showing up to Earth's championships, but I'm glad you're here to help me."

"Thanks," Rylee laughed. "I don't have the time or money to buy makeup for myself, so I'll have to settle for just making you look good." Knockout smiled and nodded, trying to look at himself through the small mirror they had. He couldn't wait to show off this look to the world.

"Should we get going soon?" Knockout asked, still absorbed with his own reflection.

"I… actually wanted to talk to you about something," Rylee said from the back of the hangar, shakily. Fear gripped his spark. Knockout sat up straight, afraid to look back at her - until he finally did. She was gripping her elbow… she looked nervous. Knockout felt nervous as well. _ Did she change her mind? Was she leaving? Did she decide she hated him? _

"What about?" Knockout tried to say cooly, but it was obvious he was apprehensive.

"It's about my dad, actually," Rylee sat down on a crate, looking at her hands. "I know what happened to him." A wave of relief washed over Knockout. "Earlier didn't seem the right time to bring it up, but since you're the only one here I've talked to about him… well…"

"Of course," Knockout chirped. "You can always tell me. I'm here." He took one last look at his own reflection, and was now absorbed by Rylee's story.

"That's good to know," Rylee said somberly. "But before I get started I just wanted you to know… I don't blame you for anything. Well… maybe I do, but I've forgiven you. If I hadn't, I wouldn't be here with you in the first place."

Knockout's anxiety was back again. He nervously laughed. "Blame me… for what exactly?"

Rylee smiled sadly. "It turns out, my father wasn't a racer. He was an agent for the EDC. And yes, apparently they were around back then. The war on Earth hadn't quite started yet, but the Autobots had been on Earth for quite a while - so by extension, the EDC was as well." She fumbled with her hands. "I always wondered why he'd frequently fix up strange looking cars, suddenly disappear on trips and never allow me in the garage. In fact, I modeled my own car after the ones I'd find in his garage back in the day. I even thought I heard voices in there sometimes…" she grabbed her own head. "He told my mother, but he never told me. I was too young, I guess. He was a respected agent, used as both a middleman and a repairman. He wasn't supposed to be in danger but…. but…"

Rylee sat there for a moment with her eyes closed. "No. I won't cry. Where was I?" She folded her hands on her lap and continued. "He was sent out suddenly for suspicious activity - some unknown 'bots had set up a camp of some kind on a hill." She met Knockout's eyes. "Thundercracker never told us where his little face off with Skywarp took place, did he?"

Knockout felt a chill run across him. He had an idea of where this was going, and he dreaded it. He shook his head.

"It was here. In South Carolina." she said softly. "Same city my father visited. Same city he died in."

"Does that mean…" Knockout trailed off.

"Yes," Rylee somberly nodded. "It wasn't a car accident that killed him. In trying to spy on the two seekers, he was killed in the same explosion that took Skywarp's life and almost took Thundercracker's as well." She gripped the crate. "I'm… just glad his death wasn't in vain. I always thought he died chasing an unlived dream, living out his life as an unsuccessful racer. That he was a _ nobody _ that was taken before he could become a _ somebody _. But no… he lived a good life. He was one of their best. He died doing his job. And if he wasn't there to warn the EDC, they wouldn't have been there on time to save Thundercracker after the explosion, or quick enough to hide the whole ordeal from the public."

"It sounds like your father is someone you should be proud of. I guess you got your affinity for Cybertronians from him," Knockout said shakily, and both were quiet for a moment. Knockout was antsy, tapping his foot against the floor. He finally sighed, "Rylee. There's something you should know. The city-leveling cannon that Thundercracker and Skywarp were using? The thing that exploded and killed your dad? I -"

"Created it. I know," Rylee smiled, cutting him off. "I'm not going to blame you for my dad's death. He was the one that went out there himself, and Thundercracker was the one who exploded it. Don't get me wrong, I don't blame Thundercracker either! I mean, he saved a whole city that day. It's just…" Rylee looked up at him. "Your creation didn't level the city, so I can forgive you for that. But I can only imagine how many other civilizations were destroyed by it." Knockout looked down in shame. It was true. That weapon of his had caused so much death and destruction that he had never intended. Megatron had instructed him to make that object as "mining instrument" - he never told him it'd be used to destroy a living civilization as well.

_ Not that he cared much, _ he realized. In the beginning he was completely apathetic to the deaths - they were _ organic _, after all. And when his one and only prototype of the weapon was destroyed, he was annoyed at the inconvenience. He never built another, however. Looking back, though, its destruction was a blessing in disguise.

"I'm proud of you, Knockout."

Knockout blinked, looking at the somber yet blissful Rylee. "What?"

"The reason I brought all of this up… well yes, I wanted to talk to someone about my dad. But I also wanted to know if I could trust you." She hopped down from the crate and slightly pulled open the hangar door. "And I can. That was a very risky thing to admit, and 'old Knockout' would've never. But I'm glad you told me, because now I know I can trust you to not hide things from me - especially important things."

Knockout nodded and allowed himself a smile. "I'm… glad you trust me. I really didn't want to tell you but with something so personal, you deserved to know." Rylee nodded back, and grabbed her helmet and transformed into vehicle mode, popping open the door. "Ready to go?"

"One last thing…" Rylee put the helmet over her head. "At the whole… 'intervention' of sorts. The people there were Ratchet, Ms. Darby, Marissa Faireborne, Thundercracker, and… _ my mom _."

"Your mom?" Knockout asked surprisedly. "Did she… know about all this Cybertronian stuff all along? She knew who I was and left you in a garage with me anyways?"

"I mean I wouldn't blame her, she'd probably be going out to get help. But no, she didn't exactly know. I mean she _ knew _ things because of my father, but she wasn't part of the EDC. She actually was visiting my aunt, like she said, until she came home and found me missing. And I guess since they had her marked down as an affiliate of the EDC, they weren't afraid to tell her what was actually going on." She grabbed the top of her helmet. "Man, my mom had a lot to say. And she was _ really _not a fan of me going off and doing all this… but she couldn't blame me. She said that's what my dad would've done."

"I was right then," Knockout mused, as Rylee hopped into the front seat. "Your family really does have an affinity for Cybertronians. You see an alien robot and go _ wild _."

Rylee giggled. "_ Maybe _." She then gripped the steering wheel. "Alright. You ready to go win a race?"

"Of course!" Knockout exclaimed as he exited the hangar into the cool dusk air. There were blinding lights all over, and the press area was already completely surrounded by masses of photographers and reporters. "I wouldn't have it any other way. We can actually… _ win _though, right? No 'second place' nonsense?"

"Yes," she smiled, with a mischievous glimmer in her eye. "It's first or nothing. Let's show them what we can _ really _do."

Author's Note

Sorry for taking so long to update (school, but also video games are getting in the way), but thank you for sticking with me! We're almost at the end! I've actually written the next chapter and am halfway through writing the one after that, so I'll definitely have more out soon. I also just wanted to say, I'm really really thankful for all the reviews I've received, and I never expected to get this much feedback on this fic of mine. Reading them made me cry with joy and I just wanted to say: THANK YOU! And thank you to everyone reading!

Continuity/Edit notes: I changed the past chapter "Bring to Light" to have Rylee's mother present as well.


	33. The Public Enigma - RYLEE,JACK - 30

Chapter 30 - POV Rylee 

She had never seen this many cameras at a NASCAR race.

Sure, she hadn't been to many. Definitely not a championship. But she'd seen photos, and usually it was a fifth of the crowd currently here. She was under the impression that NASCAR racing was a dying sport. It seems not today.

She was extremely relieved when the time ran out for press questions and photo shoots, and she quickly climbed back into the car to escape the view of the cameras. Although it was dark out, the bright LED overhead lights and the flashes of hundreds of cameras made it look even brighter than day. She was all too eager to get out of there, but before she could successfully escape to the track, there was a knock on the window. It was another competitor, donning a bright green _ Mountain Dew _ attire. _ Ugh. That meant she couldn't ignore it. _

"Hey, that's the guy Miko and I raced," Knockout hummed. "The way I remember, he was a bit of a… how do I word it… _ ass _."

"Knockout! Where did you learn human curse words?"

"What? Do you think I landed on Earth yesterday?"

As the man expectantly waited, Rylee realized she couldn't procrastinate any longer. She pulled down the window. "Yes?" she asked him. Luckily they were out of earshot from the video cameras, but a few photographers still tried to take photos from afar.

"Hi. Rylee, is it? My name is Burt Carson, and I just wanted to say _ thank you _, and that it's an honor to race against you."

Rylee slightly frowned. "Wait, thank me? For what?"

"I don't know if you know this, but the press has never been this big. Have you been keeping up with the media?" Rylee shook her head. "You're not just a star in NASCAR, you've become an icon in the greater media as well! The whole 'amateur teenage female driver' paired with the 'charismatic talking car' facade has really caused a lot of popularity."

Rylee tilted her head. "Why? I mean… I didn't even mean to? I haven't been winning the races either?" _ Being popular was the opposite of what both she and Knockout needed. They needed to draw attention _ away _ from themselves, not towards. Now all eyes were on the suspicious alien robot car. Great. _

Burt shrugged. "The people like what the people like. And I'm saying thanks because your popularity has made NASCAR as a whole popular again. Usually I'd be jealous. But damn, I've been racing for ten years and I've never been able to get a crowd like this. So really, good for you." He then winked and did a thumbs up. "And hey, while I may not personally be popular, the influx of people following and coming to these races has given me more profits and recognition as well, so… thanks!" Rylee looked up at the cameras taking photos. While she knew what he was saying was genuine, she sensed there were ulterior motives at play as well.

Rylee smiled. "Well, thank you for the kind words, and I'm glad it's helping. I really have to get going now though, and I think you do too." Burt grinned and nodded and held out a hand, and she shook it in return.

Burt bowed his head in recognition and then jogged away from the car. "Well, see you at the finish line! Let the best racer win!"

Rylee finally closed shut the window. "He says that as if I'm not already guaranteed to win," Knockout commented amusedly.

_ "Come one, come all to meet Rylee and her amazing alien car! Line up for photos, and see your popularity spike just by being seen with her!" _ Rylee mumbled mockingly. "I really hope twenty people don't come knocking on my door after that. That was nice and all but really, we need the _ opposite _of attention."

She was now lined up with the cars being cleared to enter the track. At least she wasn't late.

"Well, I think _ I _ would like a little attention, don't you think?" Knockout said lowly.

"Of course you would. But we can't really afford that now, with you being _ not a car _," Rylee sighed. "Besides, now that Ratchet and all those people have their eyes on us, they'd kill us if we slipped up in any way."

"I _ guess _ ," Knockout pouted. _ Don't worry, you'll have your fame soon enough, Knockout. If not from winning first place, then at least infamy back home for being an escapee that was finally caught. _

"Hey. You guys ready?" Jack asked over the intercoms. "People are already lining up."

"Yes. We were held up by a _ fan _," Knockout mused.

"You have _ fans _?" Miko screeched over the intercom, breaking everyone's ears.

"Miko!" Jack complained, but his voice was faded as if he was talking to her in person rather than over the com. "How many times have I told you not to screech over the mic? In person it's okay, but over the mic it's amplified and -"

"Hey, Miko," Knockout said, almost mischievously. "Turns out we actually have a lot of fans. We're a hit sensation, and we're single-handedly making NASCAR popular again."

Miko screeched once more, causing everyone to groan, but Knockout just laughed. He set that up on purpose, and unlike us, he could block his audio receptors for the inevitable screech that he knew was coming.

"But the one fan I was talking about: remember the mountain dew man, Miko?"

"Yes. I do," she said with pure animosity. "Don't tell me…"

"Yep!" Knockout laughed.

"Of _ all _the fans we could have -" Miko yelled, before Jack shut off the mic and both went silent. Knockout and Rylee sat there in silence as they were herded through different gates.

"I'm going to call Smokescreen," Knockout finally said.

"You don't need to call me, dude, we're all on the same line," Smokescreen said over the intercom.

"_ Right _. I forgot about that. How is your search going?" Knockout asked.

"It's going terribly. I don't even know what I'm looking for. Where could have Thundercracker even _ gone _? Back to his base I guess, but you'd think they'd want to keep eyes on us now more than ever…"

"That… is true," Knockout grimaced. "So what do you think? We got an agent on the inside, ratting us out? Is it you, Smokescreen?"

"If it was me I would've called the Elite Guard ages ago and you would've already been locked up," Smokescreen laughed. "So - no."

"What if it was you, Knockout?" Rylee joked, raising an eyebrow. Knockout tried to protest her absurd accusation, but she continued. "No, wait, hear me out. What if you had a split personality, and at night -" she couldn't even continue, and ended up breaking down in laughter. She couldn't put together a ridiculous explanation for that, even if she tried.

"_ Hey _ I think if _ anyone _is going to be an inside agent it'd be you, Rylee, Ms. 'Daughter of two government agents'." Knockout snapped back, but still laughing.

"Look at you two, back together!" Smokescreen joked cheekily. "You're practically halfway to conjunx endurae!" Knockout's laughter faltered, and it was now Smokescreen's turn to break out laughing.

"Smokescreen!" Knockout said flusteredly, and if she didn't know any better she'd assume he was embarrassed - but she couldn't see his face, so she couldn't tell. They pulled through the front gates and were now visible to the entire audience. She had never seen the stadium this full - people were practically overflowing out of the seats. In fact, she was a bit intimidated, but she kept her confidence.

"What's a conjunx endurae?" Rylee finally asked.

"It's uhh…" Knockout trailed off. "Someone you… er… care about very much."

Both Miko and Smokescreen snickered over the intercom - it seems they turned Miko's mic back on just in time. They were obviously both antagonizing Knockout, and Knockout was also obviously avoiding the truth. Rylee smiled. She didn't know what a conjunx was, but decided it would be fun to play dumb and antagonize him as well.

"If that's so, why aren't we conjunx endurae already?" Rylee fake pouted, and both Smokescreen and Miko broke out laughing. Rylee could feel Knockout's embarrassment radiating off him, and she slightly giggled as well.

"It's not like that… it's… I'll - I'll tell you more later," Knockout managed to put out. "Right now, we sort of have a race to win."

Rylee grinned. "Whatever you say, Knockout."

Soon enough the flag was dropped, and Knockout took off like a bullet.

Jack's POV

"I know Knockout's _ Knockout _, but it wasn't very nice to antagonize him like that."

"Hey! It was mostly Smokescreen! And admit it, J, you laughed too."

"Miko, I may have _ laughed _, but that doesn't mean -"

"Jack?" a voice called from behind.

Jack turned to see Raf, looking at a tablet of some kind. "What is it, Raf?"

"It's bad news, that's what," Raf held the tablet up towards him, but he wasn't sure what he was looking at. "I don't think we should tell the two racing, it's best not to stress them out. But we need to deal with it."

Jack took the tablet and looked closer. "Okay, and what's the problem exactly?"

"You know those sensors I installed this afternoon? So that situations like Thundercracker taking off with Rylee doesn't happen again? Well they've been tripped. There's somebody in our hangar right now."

"This is the first day testing it though, right? It could be the wind or - or… a rat or something, right?" Jack asked, but Raf just kept looking up at him with his big brown eyes. Jack sighed. "Alright, say there's someone in our hangar. There's nothing incriminatingly Cybertronian there, is there?"

"_ No _," Raf said. "Just our personal items that we undoubtedly don't want stolen." He took back his tablet. "Besides, what if Thundercracker came back? We need someone to greet him."

Jack sighed again. "Fine, I'll go check it out. Miko, Raf, stay on pit stop duty. If Knockout somehow needs a tire change, just, erm… google it."

"I think Cybertronian tires are probably different from the ones we have here," Miko was lounging back in a chair with shades on. Although they were all wearing pit crew uniforms and were in the pit stop location, they didn't look very professional at all. For one, there were only three of them rather than the standard five. Another, more off-putting thing about their pit crew was that _ none of them were adults _. He was certain that was another mystery about the enigma that was their crew. No wonder they became so popular - they were so unrelentingly different from the standard, without providing a reason as to why. If they could explain that their car was an alien robot, maybe that would explain more. But all the intrigued public could do was speculate.

Almost as if on cue, Rylee and Knockout pulled into the pit stop. The lap where all racers had to go in for a mandatory pit stop had begun, and Rylee and Knockout always had nothing better to do than sit around.

Rylee pulled down the window and waved, smiling, "Hey!"

"'Sup?" Jack said, raising his hand. He picked up his backpack and made his way towards the stairs.

"Where are you going?" Rylee called.

"To check the hangar," Jack said. "Raf thinks there's some rat invaders or something." Raf looked up at Jack with indignation.

"Well then, bye Jack," Rylee said, and Jack turned. In the background he could hear Rylee ask, "Hey, can someone pass me my lemonade?" Jack smiled. Another mystery of the team. Every pit stop instead of Knockout refueling or changing tires, it was always _ Rylee _relaxing and having a drink and a snack. The other pit crews seemed to be both envious and perplexed by their whole situation.

Soon enough, Jack was back at the hangar, and he swung the door open and stepped in, eyes squinted. "Alright, where's this mysterious invade-"

The hangar door was slammed shut behind him, and he jumped. He looked back to find it was Thundercracker who shut the door, but Thundercracker said nothing. He turned back towards the entire hangar, and Jack cautiously stepped forward to find a large group behind the crates. There were two women he didn't recognize, and Agent Fowler as well. But what really surprised him was his mother and Ratchet. She was standing on Ratchet's shoulder, and both had identical frowns and identical crossed arms. And everyone in the room was staring right at him.

Jack tentatively pressed the intercom on his ear. "Hey guys?" he said waveringly. "I think we have a problem."

Author's Note

Hey all, hope you're doing fine, I just wanted to give you guys something to read during the quarantine! I wrote this a week ago and only planned to publish it after I wrote the next chapter, but unfortunately my schedule is still full so it may be a while (or since I'm already half-way through, maybe only a few days!). As always thanks for reading and commenting, and stay safe!


	34. The Terminal Directive - RATCHET - 31

Chapter 31 - POV Ratchet 

He couldn't believe he allowed the situation to progress this far. Knockout had been right under his metaphorical nose this entire time, and when he was actually aware of what Knockout was up to, they moved too slowly to truly stop anything. It seems their intervention hadn't slowed anything either - he'd assumed she would be too distraught to attend the pre-championship race and get them easily eliminated just like that, but when Rylee and Knockout walked into the hangar, laughing together, it seemed that was not the case.

"First place!" Rylee laughed. "Finally! I have to admit, that felt good. Even better for you, probably."

"Yeah, I can't believe the first first place 'Team Knockout' got was the time I was passed out and Smokescreen was out racing. Unfair! But it was fun to cut loose for once. _ Exhilarating _." He transformed into robot mode and closed shut the hangar behind him, and they were both so absorbed by their conversation that they hadn't even noticed the eight other people in the hangar with them. June Darby cleared her throat, and both finally looked at the interior of the hangar. Both looked like deer in headlights.

"Hi, Ratchet… I can explain," Knockout winced awkwardly. Rylee finally broke loose from Knockout and ran towards the crowd.

"Mom!" she jumped to hug her mother. Knockout had a look of utter confusion on his face.

"What… is going on?" Knockout finally said. "Why are you all here? And why is she here?"

"Why should I not be here? She's my daughter," the mother frowned at Knockout. "So, this was the man in your garage?" She squinted at him. "_ Hmm _."

Rylee stepped back from her mom for a moment, nervously bouncing on her feet. "I… ah… agree with Knockout though. What's going on?" She looked towards Jack, Raf and Miko, who were all leaning against the wall. "Why didn't you tell me they were here?" Rylee hissed quietly.

"Didn't want to stress you out," Jack shrugged. "Would've found out eventually."

"We are _ here _," Agent Fowler began. "Because we've taken notice of your activities, as you've obviously noticed by now."

Rylee's face fell. "And you're shutting us down."

There was a silence, and sorrowful eyes were all on Fowler.

"No, actually," Fowler said with a smile, and all of Team Knockout suddenly perked up with a smile. "It would be too suspicious for you all to drop out now. So since you've got this far, go put on a show. Finish your last race tomorrow. But then it's back home to Cybertron for you, Knockout." Fowler pointedly looked at Knockout, who looked down. And then nodded. The kids of Team Knockout ran over to where Rylee and Knockout were, and soon there was a flurry of 'Thank You's erupting from them all, overwhelming the visitors.

"Remember that we're not doing it for _ you _, Knockout," Ratchet frowned. "It's just that your whole case is a mystery enough. If you didn't take part in the final race tomorrow, the conspiracy theorists would never see the end of it."

"Are we… allowed to get first place tomorrow?" Rylee tentatively asked, and everyone - including Fowler and co. - looked up at him.

Ratchet allowed a small smile to break through his frown. "That depends on if you can manage it."

Smiles lit up the entire room, and Ratchet felt a warmness in his spark. Especially seeing the original three children beam up at him - it wasn't something he'd seen in a while. Sure, they smiled all the time. But ever since Team Prime left, there was sort of a morose sadness in the air - of being left behind, and of unanswered hopes. They'd smile and laugh but deep down there was hidden despair. And despite being a medic, that was the one thing he could not fix.

"We're really thankful," Jack nodded, grinning. "I… honestly thought you'd never even consider letting us continue… so um… thank you, for surprising us all."

"Yeah, yeah, damage's already been done. May as well go through with it if it means so much to you all." He then met Jack's eyes. "_ But _, you, Raf, and Miko have to finally sit down and listen to what I've had to tell you for a month. A month!" Ratchet flailed his hands in the air.

"Sorry Ratty," Miko said cheekily. "We were just so caught up with everything."

"Yeup, yeup, yeup," Ratchet waved them off. "I get it. Why hang out with the old medic bot when there's someone more fun."

"Ratchet," Raf began. "That's not what we -"

"It's okay," Ratchet waved them over to the edge of the hangar. "Just c'mere. I have to tell you all something." He then sternly looked up at Knockout, who was still standing there awkwardly. "And _ I'm _ not done talking to _ you _, mister. Breaking into my hangar, stealing things, and sending me on a wild goose chase? You're going to be in big trouble when -" Ratchet sighed. He didn't have time to start this now, not when he had to break the news. "I'll talk to you later." He knelt down and turned back to the kids.

Knockout sheepishly smiled, looking anxious. "Well, I'll take that as my cue to ask er… Fowler? Yes, Fowler. Some _ legal questions _." He stepped over to Fowler, who looked up at him incredulously.

"Me?" Fowler shrilled. "Now what kinda legal question can an alien robot that's already broken dozens of laws have?"

He then looked at Marissa Faireborne, who was watching the scene curiously. "You look like someone important. Come with me too." Knockout slightly cracked open the hangar door, and Rylee turned away from her mother to look at him.

"Where you going?" Rylee asked, as Knockout turned into vehicle mode.

"A surprise," Knockout hummed simply. He popped open the car doors, and Marissa and Fowler tentatively entered.

"O-kay," Rylee raised her eyebrows, and then turned and went back to talking to her mom.

"I agree with the girl, where _ are _ we going? And _ what _are you asking us?" Fowler asked, strapping in.

"Somewhere private," Knockout said. "And really, I'm half asking a question, and half asking permission. A bit of both."  
"Oh, this is going to be good," Marissa said.

"Marissa?" Thundercracker asked concernedly, kneeling down to Knockout's window. "You okay with this? You want me to fly overhead, and… I don't know… watch?"

"I'm fine," Marissa smiled. "I'll ping you if there's any trouble."

They quickly took off out of the hangar, and Thundercracker closed the door behind them. He then sat in the corner alone, smiling at Buster in his hands. How someone as big as Thundercracker managed to care for something as small as an Earth dog was beyond Ratchet, but somehow he did it. Rylee was still talking with her mother, and Mrs. Darby walked over to where Ratchet and the kids were.

"I can't believe I heard about the news before you all. That you'd go a month without hearing what Ratchet had to say. Especially something that important." June Darby shook her head at them.

The kids looked concerned now. It was Raf that finally bit.

"What is it? What happened?"

"You know that letter that Knockout brought with him from Cybertron?" Ratchet opened a compartment in his chest and out came a holopad, filled with cybertronian letters. The kids nodded, but Ratchet couldn't meet their eyes.

"I'm leaving tomorrow. Back to Cybertron. And I'm not coming back."

All three children stood up at once, a chorus of protests.

"There's no way!-" Miko yelled.

"Cybertron requested me. I'm _ sorry _ , I have no choice. Otherwise I'd stay." He finally looked up at them all. "I wanted to spend the past month with you all, since I may never see you again. I thought you'd want that. But you've all been… _ gone _."

"Ratchet, we didn't-"

Ratchet held up a hand, and they went silent. "I know, I know. I didn't tell you all in time. I just didn't expect you all to do something so impulsive so quickly." He sighed, but smiled. "I figured if I couldn't spend time with you all to say goodbye, I'd at least let you all finish what you've started. Instead of leaving off on a bad note."

Miko was sobbing already, and Raf had a silent streak down his cheek as well. Even Jack was mourning, his eyes welling up despite his stoic expression. Miko quickly ran forward, hugging Ratchet's leg and crying. Raf and Jack soon followed, and Ratchet didn't know how to deal with this expression of emotion. He finally opted to place a tender hand over all of their shoulders, and looked down. This is the closest they'd ever come to making him want to cry.

"Hey," Ratchet finally backed up, and they let go of the group hug, sniffling. "I'll try to come back. You hear me? I'll go to Cybertron and see what's been holding up those teammates of ours, and bring them all back for a visit. But until then, stick with Fowler and Unit E. Work with other incoming Cybertronians. And one day, I'll be among them."

Miko placed her small hand on his, looking up at him with glazed eyes. "We'll miss you, Ratchet," she sniffed.

He looked down at them all, at Raf crying silently, at Miko's floodgates of emotion, and Jack's effort to keep it all in but failing. He never expected to care about any of the indigenous life forms of the planet he crashed onto. In fact, he despised them all at first - wanted to be as far away from them as possible. And now he couldn't bear to leave them. It's funny how the universe plays out.

Ratchet lowered his hand down to them all, and they grasped it. He then smiled sadly.

"I'll miss you all too."

Author's Note

Hey everyone, hope you're all safe! We're finally getting to the finale of it all. For context, in Robots in Disguise (2015) (Transformers Prime's sequel) it's revealed that Ratchet was requested back to Cybertron not long after the main cast all left, so I'd always wondered how the kids would react. Sure, they had Unit E still, but they had counted on Ratchet remaining there with them as their last link to Cybertron and their friends. Cybertron requesting him left them with nobody.

Anyways, that was just one of the questions RID15 raised for me and I tried to answer it here! Thank you all for reading and I deeply appreciate every single comment and favorite :)


	35. True Colors - JACK - 32

CHAPTER 32 - JACK 

"Where's Knockout?"

It was the morning of the championship, and everyone was frantically running about. Everyone who stayed behind, that was. The visiting adults had left to the nearest hotel for the night, bringing Knockout along to drive them there instead of having four adults show up at the local Hilton in an ambulance. At first Rylee stayed up, she wanted to make sure Knockout got home safe. But as the night grew longer Jack finally convinced Rylee to head to sleep, assuring her that Knockout would definitely be back at the hangar by morning - that there's absolutely no way he'd miss this. But early in the morning, Jack was awoken by Rylee stampeding through the hangar, shrieking.

"And _ where's _ my racing uniform? I swear it was right here!" Rylee cried, frantically searching through her duffel bag. "I don't understand. I was so prepared for this, how did it fall apart? How did everything I need go missing? And _ where's Knockout _?"

"It's somewhere. I promise," Jack wiped his eyes. "I still don't think there's any way Knockout would leave us, especially on the championship. Even if he was captured by Cybertron he'd find some way to break out just to make it today. You have to remember there's still quite a few hours left until the race."

Miko ran up to Rylee, who was growing more panicked by the minute. "I don't see KO outside. Should I send Smokescreen out to look for him?"

Smokescreen looked up from the holopad he was reading. "What, so I can get captured by the boogeyman too? I mean at least if Knockout doesn't turn up you've still got me to win the race, but if I get lost out there looking for him you'll have nobody."  
"I just think you're saying that because you want to race," Miko said plainly.

Smokescreen laid back down, looking at his holopad again. "And what about it?"

"I'm going out there," Rylee said, through gritted teeth, and all three kids had to jump forward to stop her.

"Rylee, give it an hour or so," Jack sighed. "They could've just asked Knockout to stay the night or something! You don't even have a ride, so wandering around would probably get you in more trouble than Knockout."

"But what if the Elite Guard captured him?" she yelled frantically.

"And what if they did?" Raf responded. "What are you going to do about it?"

"I -" she couldn't find a response. She looked away, agitated.

Just then, a noise came from the hangar door. Rylee perked up at the voice.

"Hi, it's me, I'm here, but don't open the door yet, 'kay?" came muffled from the other side.

"Knockout!" Rylee ran forward, overjoyed. She then quickly frowned. "Where were you? You stressed me out! And why can't I open the door?"

"Because he wants us to do the introduction," a voice came from behind them, and Jack jumped.

"Jesus, Fowler, don't scare us like that."

All of the adults plus Ratchet and Thundercracker had entered through the back door of the hangar while they had been preoccupied talking to Knockout, and now Fowler and Marissa were at the very front.

"Introduction for what?" Rylee asked.

"This." Fowler pulled open the hangar door and allowed Knockout to drive in, and quickly closed it shut behind him. Somehow, it took Jack a second to realize what was off about Knockout. _ Very _off.

He was a completely different color - red - and where the Bigham Oil Co. advertisements were, there were now Cybertronian characters in gold. This new look allowed his actual character to shine through, but Jack wondered how this could ever be allowed.

Rylee looked absolutely stunned. For a long moment, she had no other emotion on her face. Knockout transformed to robot mode and pulled a uniform out of his compartment, a replica of Rylee's only now it was red as well and also had golden Cybertronian lettering, but the words were different from Knockout's.

"Okay, so, you told me you hated the company we're advertising and all that, and don't want to give them any good publicity, so I thought that, I don't know, maybe we'll go wild and change up the outfits to actually reflect ourselves and then expose Bingham to the press perhaps?," Knockout shrugged, smiling. He then lowered the uniform down to Rylee, who took it. "And this is for you. So we're matching! This is where I was all last night, and also kinda why your uniform went missing."

Rylee had the strangest expression on her face. It was both amazement, shock, happiness and horror. "You shouldn't have," she smiled concernedly.

"It was nothing! I got the EDC to pay for it." Knockout smiled.

"No, I, uh, mean it… you shouldn't have," she said strainedly. "I really appreciate it and I'm honored, but I'm going to be in a _ lot _of trouble for this. I'm thinking lawsuits for millions of dollars, maybe even jail. I appreciate the sentiment, but… um…"

"Don't worry about it," Fowler allowed a smile. "There'll be no legal repercussions. We'll cover it up, keep you safe." He glanced at Knockout. "Knockout practically forced us to."

"I asked _ nicely _!" Knockout exclaimed. "Rylee, you have to believe me."

"You did," June smiled. "And that's why we even allowed it."

Rylee was barely paying attention though - now the fear of lawsuits was gone, she was infatuated with her new outfit. She traced the gold lettering, her eyes full of curiosity.

"What does this say?" she asked, looking up at him.

"Take a guess," Knockout smiled, kneeling down and holding out his arm to show his own golden lettering. "Mine says 'Knockout'".

Rylee looked back down at her suit, a huge smile on her face. "I can't believe this. My… name? Does this say Rylee?" Knockout nodded, and her eyes grew wider. "This is… _ amazing _ ! I've never seen my name in an alien language." She then paused for a moment, realizing what she said, and then frowned. "Wait, _ what _were you thinking? Cybertronian? Out in the open like this? How was this even allowed?"

Everyone turned toward Ratchet, who wasn't even paying attention, and was instead looking at his holo-pad. He finally realized everyone was looking at him. "Huh?"

"You… allowed this?" Jack asked.

"Why are you looking at me? I'm not the one managing Earth's perceptions of Cybertronians, that's Marissa Faireborne." He put his hands on his hips.

"Yeah but you're usually very… vocal about stuff like this. Especially when it comes to Knockout." Jack shrugged.

"You're right. I didn't like it. But…" Ratchet looked at Knockout, who sheepishly smiled. "People will know about Cybertronians one day. There's no way we can stay hidden forever. May as well give Knockout this one thing - it'll at least explain to the historians why this whole racing team was so odd." Ratchet smiled.

Miko smirked. "Oh, we are _ so _getting a documentary."

Thundercracker hopped up. "I call making it!"

"Thank you," Rylee smiled warmly. "It truly was a nice surprise." Her smile slightly fell. "I'm just worried what Snakesworth is going to say…"

"You won't have to talk to him. We'll handle it, don't worry," Marissa nodded her head.

"I - wow…" Rylee looked around the room, a look of amazement on her face. It was as if she were just realizing what they were doing and how far they had come. Months before, she was living a normal life. Now she was in a hangar with three government agents, three random kids that became her family, and three alien robots - and about to race in the championship NASCAR race. By Jack, Raf, and Miko's terms, this was relatively normal. But for her… it's been one hell of a summer. Rylee wiped a tear of joy. "I just wanted to say… thank you all. This has been quite a ride, and, um…" she wiped another tear, joyful but at loss for words. "I never expected all of this and to find a new family… but I'm so glad I did." She smiled up at Knockout. "I'm going to be honest, I thought you were a curse at first, here to make my life harder and then vanish. But… I don't regret letting you drive me home. And I'm glad you decided to go racing that day, because otherwise I wouldn't be here. And I don't mean here as in NASCAR, I mean here as in _ on Earth _, because you sort of saved me from falling off the cliff that day."

Knockout winked in response, a dumb smile still plastered to his face, however the majority of the rest of the audience was in shock.

"I'm sorry, _ what _?" both June and Fowler said at the same time.

"When you came to see me, that was because you almost fell off a cliff?" June exclaimed.

"And Knockout - _ Knockout... _ saved someone?" Fowler asked.

"Duh," Knockout said, shrugging. "Really, how did you think I met her? Walk up to her on the street and ask her to join a race with me?"

"Let's be honest, KO, that does seem like something you'd do," Miko giggled.

"Okay yes _ before _ , but I swear, I did learn _ something _in those Autobot classes."

"Wait. Does the pit crew get cool new outfits too?" Miko crossed her arms.

"I don't know," Knockout said mischievously, glancing at Jack. "I think Jack should talk to his mom." Jack glanced over at his mom and swallowed nervously. She still looked stern, but a lot happier than the last times he saw her. He hadn't apologized to her yet… and it certainly seemed long overdue.

Rylee looked at her watch and tensed up. "Alright guys, the race is actually really soon and we have yet to make our mandated appearance to the media, so… umm…" she trailed off, as Knockout transformed to vehicle mode. "Thanks for being here for me. We'll win this race." She smiled and finger-gun saluted them all, then opened Knockout's door and stepped inside. Thundercracker cracked the hangar door open, and they raced out.

They were definitely having another smaller meeting later - without the enormous audience. He could tell she wasn't very comfortable talking in front of such a large crowd, with a bunch of people she didn't know.

Jack turned to get the pit stop gear in order - even though they didn't do much, they still had to maintain appearances. As he was rustling through a duffel bag, he could hear a certain someone clear her throat immediately behind him. Jack froze. _ Uh Oh. _

"Looking for something?"

Jack turned to look up at his mother, who had a jumpsuit in her hand and was still looking stern. Jack cheekily smiled at her. "Hi, mom, I -" he laid eyes on the jumpsuit and his train of thought was cut off. The black cotton with golden Cybertronian letters woven in - it looked amazing. Beyond that, despite hanging out with Cybertronians for years, he had never seen his own name in Cybertronian.

He must've looked amazed, because his mother let loose a smile. "Thought you'd like it."

Jack picked up the jumpsuit and gingerly held it. He smiled, but then winced. He still felt guilty. "Mom, I just wanted to tell you I'm really sorry. For all of it. I -"

"Jack," She waved him off, pinching her temple. "It's fine. Really. You worried me - a lot - but after everything that's happened, I should've expected something like this. And I should've known it would be alright." She then tenderly laid her hand on his shoulder. "Just… please don't do that again," she sighed, a weary smile filling her face.

Jack then hugged his mother tightly, tears threatening to well. "I'll try not to," he laughed.

His mother laughed too, but then grew somber. She combed her hands through his hair. "I heard that Ratchet told you the news. Are you going to be okay?"

Jack didn't lift his head from her shoulder. "I'll have to be. It's…" Jack croaked. "It's not like I can stop him from going back to Cybertron."

"I know, honey," his mother laid her head on his, hugging tighter. Jack finally allowed his first tears to escape, hidden by his mother's shoulder. "I know."

Author's Note

Hey all, thanks for reading and sorry it's taken forever to update, quarantine's killed my motivation and I haven't watched or read any new Transformers things in months, but I'm determined to finish this story no matter what. I planned it all out a long, long time ago, so now I just need to put it all into words. And it's taking a while because I'm so concerned with it being perfect that I'm just not writing it at all - so I've decided to just write what I can and put it out there. I'm almost done with the next chapter, so hopefully that'll be out soon as well. As always thank you all for reading, I appreciate you all!


	36. Guardian - RYLEE - 33

Chapter 33 - RYLEE 

Rylee soared off the stage, the surge of adrenaline putting a pep into her step. She had exposed the nasty oil corporation for what it was, and didn't regret it one bit. As long as Fowler kept up his bargain, she'd be safe from any legal repercussions. Knockout had been right - she _ did _ want to strike at Bigham - she was just afraid of what would bite back. Journalists attempted to follow her backstage into the crew area, but were blocked by guards. She had never heard the crowd as rambunctious as then. It was about five times the size of the normal press crowd - which was already large due to Team Knockout's increasing popularity. And yes, the sheer mass made them louder. But nothing could've compared to the moment they entered the panel in new gear, which was only superseded in decibels when she started exposing every dirty thing she knew about them live.

Was that the right thing to do? She didn't know. But the public deserved to know the truth either way. She skipped along, eyes trained on the floor. Dusk was falling, and it was awfully empty around this part of the track. She had to double back to the registration center to grab some papers before Knockout could race, and thankfully it wasn't surrounded by all the ruckus that afflicted the rest of the arena. She glanced around her again. Maybe there were _ too _few people there… what if Bigham had already sent a hitman after her? Were they that kind of company? Would they ever find her body?

Rylee laughed off her nervousness as she rounded another desolate corner. That was just silly thinking. There's no way anything like that would happen. Besides, Knockout -

Rylee's thoughts were interrupted as she was slammed against the wall; her injured head and arm taking the most pressure as she cried out in pain.

"Rylee!" came a roar, and she finally focused enough to make out that it was Snakesworth who was holding her against the wall by her shoulder. She tried to squirm out, but that just made him painfully tighten his grip. "You ruined everything," he growled. "You were supposed to bring me fame and fortune. You were going to! It's the only thing that made me tolerate a shady, annoying amateur like you. I covered up every legal loophole you've gone through. And you were supposed to do that for Bigham in turn. Why couldn't you just shut your pretty mouth on that stage and just smile and wave?"

"Let _ go _!" Rylee yelled, but he jammed her injured shoulder more into the wall, and she winced.

"Should've shut off that critical thinking of yours as well and just said whatever we told you to. You're obviously just a figurehead! I've had my doubts, but somehow I don't even think you're the one racing! You're just there to look pretty and make money. And _ that's what you should've done _." Snakesworth looked truly vile, and his scowl was deepening. Rylee's fury was rising as well, but it was also matched by her fear. She was completely vulnerable now, with Snakesworth using her injury to his advantage, and nobody in sight. Rylee glanced at her wristband quickly. Even if she wanted to call the Elite Guard on him - which wouldn't be worth it - the bracelet was too far for her to tap.

"You destroyed my career. You destroyed my life." He looked darkly at her. "I think yours deserves to be destroyed too."

She had enough. Once her fear reached her peak, she kicked him in the groin with her knee. He keeled over in pain, letting out a groan, and she took off running - only to have her injured arm grabbed. "You're going to regret that." He still looked in pain, but now looked even angrier than before.

"Let go!" Rylee yelled again, a fiery intensity in her eyes.

Snakesworth's scowl looked almost inhuman, and he opened his mouth to speak - but then stopped. A shadow fell over his face, and his look went from fury to pure and utter horror.

"Let. Go." a familiar voice spoke, and Snakesworth quickly let go and timidly raised his hands in surrender, who looked as if he couldn't believe his own eyes.

Rylee turned to see Knockout - in robot form - standing directly behind her. He looked unusually stern, and his hands were in fists. She breathed a sigh of relief, but also raised her palms to her face. How would they explain this?

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," Snakesworth exhaled in low breaths, looking as if he were about to pass out. "I - I'm -"

"You see that exit?" Knockout pointed to a gate leading to the outside of the arena. "Go. Run, puny human. Never come back, and never tell anyone about this. Or_ I will come after you. _"

"Y-yes," he stuttered, and turned heel and took off running, almost tripping over his loafers. Soon he made it out of the arena, and tore down the field, continually looking back until he was a speck in the distance.

Knockout knelt down, a concerned look on his face. "Are you okay, Rylee?"

Rylee finally removed her hand from her forehead. She didn't know how to respond. "I…" she trailed off. "Thank you, Knockout. But that was kind of an incredibly dumb thing to do. I could've handled it."

Knockout crossed his arms. "I don't know, didn't seem like you were handling it quite well, being restrained and all."

"_ I could've handled it _," Rylee repeated. She turned around and hugged her arms. "Look, it's not up to me to decide to expose the secret of your entire race just because I was in danger. Cybertronians deserve better."

"No," Knockout said, walking to where Rylee turned and kneeling again. "It was up to me. I decided."

"It… it wasn't really up to you."

"But I decided to anyways."

Rylee looked down, and let go of a tense exhale she didn't know she was holding in. He was right. She didn't really have it, and she didn't want to think what sort of trouble she could have been in if he didn't intervene. She finally looked back up at him… his optics were kind and reassuring, and she couldn't help but let loose a melancholy smile. "Thank you." Knockout nodded, smiling in return, and stood up. "What are you going to do now? I mean he's out there, he knows your secret -" Rylee suddenly faltered. "Knockout. I know what you're thinking. Do not make him have an _ 'accidental motor accident _'. I know he's cruel but not even he deserves death - also it's kind of incriminating."

"That's a _ shame _," Knockout chirped, looking smugly down at her. "Was looking forward to fabricating a crime scene." Rylee laughed, and he smiled in response. "If you want to know the truth, Fowler and the crew will probably sort it out. Somehow. They've got all kinds of thingamabobs, maybe something will go in there and erase his memory. Or maybe he'll have a silence order. Or maybe because of the stressful circumstances involving us exposing all of Bigham Oil Co. and him being responsible, they'll write it off as hysteria and throw him in a mental ward. Who knows! So many exciting options."

"Alright then," Rylee nodded. "I just don't want to be around when you tell them. They're gonna have your head for sure."

Knockout shrugged sheepishly. "Yeah. Maybe."

Rylee looked around. The area was still dark, and not a human in sight. She looked up at the buildings. No cameras either. "I know we haven't seen anyone - but Snakesworth - in a while, but we really shouldn't risk it. Should turn back into a car."

"Right," Knockout finger gunned, and transformed to vehicle mode. She entered the driver's seat, and instantly felt a million times safer. She glanced back at the wall where Snakesworth surprised her, and felt the phantom pain of her head and arm. It was because of Knockout saving her life that she had those injuries in the first place, but they hadn't hurt much. Now, it felt sore with every movement. As Rylee shut the door behind her, something dawned on her.

"Wait. How did you even find me? Were you following me? Not only that but _ without a driver _? You could've been in trouble if caught!"

"Hey, I was bored!" Knockout cried out. "There's nothing better to do besides sit with a bunch of inanimate cars. Also, this place is desolate and you know what, the last thing you should do after making a corporation an enemy is to go off by yourself."

"I feel like you just made that up," Rylee smiled as Knockout pulled out of the area and towards the track. "But you're right. I don't wanna face Bigham assassins by myself."

"That's the spirit," Knockout laughed. "Now what do you say, should we go give the OG Team Knockout a pep talk?"

"Are we not going to tell Ratchet and co. that their secret was exposed?"

"Mmm… I will. _ After _the race."

Rylee smiled and rolled her eyes, but Knockout was somewhat right. Who knows how Ratchet would react to the news, may as well just tell him afterwards to be safe. It's the last race, after all. "Alright then, but just to let you know I still don't really know what to say. I'll leave the motivational speech to you."

"'Motivational speech?' Who am I supposed to motivate?" Knockout joked. "I'm the one doing all the work, it's going to sound more egotistical than anything."

Rylee raised an eyebrow reflexively, and said nothing.

"Sorry, yes, not all the work," Knockout recovered. "You're a vital member. And the others... I _ guess _they have their moments."

"It's _ fine _, Knockout," Rylee smirked, as they reentered the populated zone. "Now let's go gather the rest of the crew. The race will begin before we know it."

Author's Note

Hey! Sorry it took a while to update. Classes started, and I've been preoccupied writing my real novel, and for some reason I wanted to put together an "Racing Redemption" animal crossing collage before I published this chapter, but I'll put it with next chapter! I've also spent a ridiculous amount of time playing Animal Crossing, and I'm happy to say I've recreated both Knockout and Rylee as best as I could in that game, and I'm excited to share the photos. Anyways, see you all later! Next chapter is short (as well) so hopefully it'll be out soon... but you know how that always goes. We're almost at the end though, so hang in there :)


	37. The Calm - MARISSA, STARSCREAM - 34

CHAPTER 34 - MARISSA, STARSCREAM 

POV Marissa 

Thundercracker looked giddy with excitement, his feet bouncing up and down. Marissa laid a hand on his thigh and the bouncing slowed, and Thundercracker looked down at her with a dumb grin on his face.

"Yeah?"  
"Thundercracker… I hate to say this because I love seeing you happy, but if you keep bouncing like that they'll have to call off the race because of earthquakes."

"Oh!" Thundercracker covered his mouth. "Sorry. Just excited. A real race! In real life!"

"Aren't there… races on Cybertron? You're a half-vehicle species after all..."

"I mean _ yeah _ ," Thundercracker exaggerated. "But this is _ different _. It's a human race. The cars are a lot slower. The culture's a lot different! What's not to love?"

Marissa smiled. "I suppose so."

She looked down at the track. Cars were beginning to line up, yet Rylee and Knockout weren't there yet. Still having their pep talk, she supposed.

But right as that thought crossed her mind, she could see the duo enter the track. Thundercracker grinned with excitement, Ratchet allowed a smile, and Smokescreen went as far as standing up to holler a cheer for them.

"Smokescreen!" Both Fowler and Marissa hissed simultaneously.

Smokescreen looked at them both, with big innocent eyes. "What?"

"Sit down! You're messing up the disguise!" Marissa motioned to take a seat.

Smokescreen's eyes widened, and he mouthed an 'Oh' with a sincerely apologetic face.

Marissa gave him a skeptical look, but then nodded in forgiveness.

One of Thundercracker's number one wishes was to witness the race - and jets aren't exactly allowed in the stands to watch. It would be expensive to get the disguise all set up, so they probably would not have if it were just Thundercracker. But now that Ratchet and Smokescreen were here as well… may as well allow them all to view the race. The EDC bought out a few of the isolated rows, and set up an elaborate reflective disguise to make it appear as if there were normal people sitting in the seats. On the downside, they had to look through a sheer film of fabric to view the race - but at least they could _ view _the race.

"I never imagined it. Sitting here watching Knockout race on Earth with a _ human _no less." Ratchet was mumbling, seemingly to himself. "Not only a year ago he was trying to commit genocide against the humans."

Marissa glanced over at Thundercracker - who was still excited - but this time, she noticed a blinking on his arm.

"Uh. Thundercracker? What's that?" she pointed at it.

He looked down at his arm, then back up. "Oh! Must've accidentally hit it. I de-masked my location for a bit." He clicked the button, and the blinking stopped. "See! Back to normal." Marissa gave him a look, and Thundercracker shrugged. "What! It couldn't have been longer than a few minutes. Do you really think that someone's out there actually looking for me?"

"You're right. That'd be ridiculous… the war's over anyways. Just be more careful. We should just… really put duct tape over that or something. Can't be a secret agent if you can't keep your identity a secret."

"Touche," Thundercracker winked.

At that moment, Marissa's comms beeped, and she picked up a call. What was EDC doing, calling her _ now _? The race was about to begin! As she listened to the officer speak, she hung her head in dejection, knowing there was no way around this. "Okay. Yes, that seems important. Thundercracker and I are on it." Marissa hung up and threw back her head. "TC, looks like we gotta go."

"What?" exclaimed Thundercracker dejectedly. "The- the race!"

"I know. But the EDC's finally identified that 'meteor' that's been blipping in and out of our radar in lower orbit. It wasn't a meteor after all, it's employing advanced technology to make it look as such. What it is, we can only guess. But I'm guessing you can get me up there to look?"

Thundercracker crossed his arms, grumbling. "I _ guess _."

"Sorry about this. We'll probably be back on time! Just have to do it quickly."

"I guess…" Thundercracker mumbled, starting to stand up. Marissa reached for his finger, and he paused, looking down at her.

"And thank you, Thundercracker," she said warmly. "You know I appreciate you. A lot."

Thundercracker smiled, sunshine breaking through his moroseness. "Aw, alright. That makes it all worth it. Let's go."

POV STARSCREAM 

A blip on the radar.

Starscream had been sunken in the corner, questioning his future when the beeping awoke him from his stupor. He quickly stood up and ran towards the counter, leaning against it. His hands dug into the console, which overlooked the big sphere known as "Earth", and the source of so much of his pain. He looked closer at the radar. He couldn't believe this. Thundercracker. _ Again _ . It had to be a trick of some sort. Thundercracker was _ dead _\- the only thing left of his trinemates were scraps. Then why was he receiving a signal…?

Not long after it appeared it cut out again. But long enough that the signal's location was no longer in just a general "North America". No, it was in Darlington Raceway, South Carolina. Starscream hovered over the controls, wondering whether or not to set the course there. _ No _ , he finally decided. _ I'll go myself. _ Starscream headed towards the exit landing, ready to jump out and fly towards Earth himself. Except he didn't seem happy one bit - in fact, his optics hid a forgotten rage.

_ I'll see Thundercracker myself. And if it's not Thundercracker - if it's someone trying to lure me down there, then the joke will be on them. _

_ Because I will make them pay._

_Author's Note_

Hey all, finally updated! Sorry it's short, but it's more of a set-up and the next chapters are much longer. Accidentally stayed up til 8 am yesterday, and since I couldn't fall asleep I started writing. Started the next chapter, hopefully it won't take too long for me to start writing again and get that published. Thanks all for reading, and I really appreciate the comments!


	38. Worthy - RYLEE - 35

CHAPTER 35 - RYLEE 

Butterflies crushed Rylee's stomach as she gripped Knockout's steering wheel. She looked up, past the starting line, past the commentators, past the thousands of cheering people, and set her gaze upon the illusion - the spot where she knew her mother and the others were sitting. She smiled, but the smile faltered. _ Would I make them proud? Knockout may. But was Snakesworth right - am I just a figurehead? Am I even worth anything? _She then looked past the illusion, towards a spot in the sky - the star that Knockout pointed out to her once, that belonged to Cybertron. What would they think of Knockout? And how quickly from the race's finish will he be torn away from her, never to be seen again? Will they even get a proper goodbye?

She then turned to the pit stop, where Raf, Jack, and Miko were joyously waving to her. And despite that, she felt a pit in her stomach. She recalled the pep talk from each of them, and the group hug at the end that included all of them - even Knockout. She remembered the smiles, and the assurances that they'd all see each other again, this time with a trophy in hand.

_ "I think you're ready. Just don't get nervous and mess up. You'll do fine!" _

_ "KO, I bet you can hardly believe you're here, huh? Remember, it was my idea, you owe me one. Now get that trophy! Hey… wait, can I keep your trophy?" _

_ "Good luck Rylee, Knockout. I can't believe the day's finally here… but it is. Feels more like a dream than anything. I'm sure you'll knock it out of the park… just make sure you say bye to us before you leave, 'kay?" _

Their separate goodbyes recalled another old subject to her mind - Unit E. Jack, Raf and Miko wholeheartedly expected Rylee to join them when they started training for their little secret government club. But… was she ready? She held more confidence than before… but it didn't change the fact that as a whole, she seemed woefully unprepared. Unworthy, even. To gain admittance, what did they do? They literally helped stop an alien war, risking their lives everyday to help out the "good guys". What did she do? Help an alien fugitive break the law? In fact, she wouldn't be surprised if after all this, they put her in jail. What -

"Err… Rylee?" Knockout's voice broke her from her train of thought. She looked away from the pit stop, and back towards the starting line, shaking her head of thoughts.

"Y-Yeah?" Rylee finally responded.

"You seem very… deep in thoughts. And the race is kind of starting in eight seconds."

Rylee's eyes went wide. "Wait, what? Was I really that close to missing the start of the race?"

"Re-lax," Knockout expressed. "Isn't that what I'm here for?"

"Yeah," Rylee simply responded, and sat back in her chair.

Within a millisecond, the cars all shot off - with Knockout taking clear first.

"Easy peasy! Glad I don't have to pretend like I'm slow anymore." Knockout mused.

Rylee looked back. "Watch out for that guy, though," she pointed at the annoyingly vivid car trailing them.

"What? Him? I'm going like… _ at least _ 10 miles per hour over him."

"Yeah but have you ever heard the story of the tortoise and the hare?"

"Rye… I'm going to be honest, I have no clue what a tortoise or hare even is. I researched _ different _ parts of Earth. Like… the many different models of deluxe Mercedes."

"Riight," Rylee smiled. She gripped the wheel again, and looked out the window. They were going quite fast, overlapping one of the first cars. This wasn't how she imagined winning her first championship… but it was certainly the most _ unique _way. It still felt like cheating.

"Knockout… I have to say…" Rylee began.

"Yeah…?" Knockout answered back. She may not have been happy about the way she won the race. But being there, beside Knockout, made it all worth it.

"It was fun having you here. And thank you for saving my life that day. Sometimes I wonder if I'm even still alive, with how drastically my life has changed. For the better, I think. So thank you."

"Aw," Rylee could hear Knockout smiling, though it sounded fake mockingly. "We're getting sentimental here?"

"Did you _ not _pick up the cues?" Rylee scoffed jokingly. "Yeah? Why not? I mean this is the last race. If you have something to say, say it now."

"Alright, alright," Knockout mused. "Okay. I do have something to tell you. It's um…"

At that moment, a booming sound came tearing through the sky. Rylee looked up just in time to see a jet fighter streak through the clouds.

"Wow!" Rylee exclaimed. "They even paid for a jet flyover? NASCAR doesn't usually do this! Maybe we're special?" She smiled and looked back up at the sky, searching for another flyover. Sure enough, the jet flew over once again, its red and blue paint accents unfamiliar to her. Knockout almost swerved off the road, and Rylee quickly clamped her hands on the wheel and stabilized him. "Though I think I understand why not now, it _ is _pretty distracting." She noticed Knockout had been oddly silent that whole time. "Knockout? You okay?"

"Rylee," Knockout said in hushed tones, unusually quiet and serious. "I need you to take the wheel. Drive. Just for a few minutes. I trust you." At that moment she felt the wheel go loose - it was completely in her control now. Her blood turned cold.

"Wh- Knockout? Knockout what's going on?" Rylee asked frantically, to no response. She grew paler by the second. Tunnel vision on the stretch of track ahead, she sweat beaded on her forehead. She'd never driven a stock car before. She didn't know how to. She'd done research but… actually driving it? Rylee clutched the wheel tighter. The jet flew over once again, this time slightly closer to the ground. She could feel the jet's vibration on the dashboard, almost like shivers. "Knockout… please tell me what's going on."

No reply once again. Had he passed out somehow? Who knows how alien robots like him work. All she knew is that she was alone, and it was up to her. She couldn't let the world down.

Up ahead was a turn. They had gained a lot of distance from the closest competitor, but if she drove too cautiously she'd absolutely give up their spot. She took the turn cautiously - but now that she got the hang of it, she'd be able to handle the next turn. When it came up again, she maintained the same pace and safely navigated it - earning herself a queasy smile. _ You see, Snakesworth! I'm not completely useless after all. _

She wove past the last place cars, overlapping them already. The jet flew over once more. _ Was that… missiles on it? You'd think they'd remove those for civilian flyovers _. The more she drove, the more fluid it felt, almost like she was back home street racing once again. But the loud blinding lights of the arena were a lot different from the still moonlit roads of the shrublands.

"Rye?" came Knockout's voice.

"Knockout," she sighed in relief, still controlling the wheel. "What… what happened?"

"I had to look closer. I have… _ bad _. Very bad news," Knockout said tensely. He took control of the wheels again, quickly streaking across to the track towards the farthest edge. Rylee could hear the jet in the distance again. "We have… a visitor. And if we don't get out of here fast, everyone in the arena will be in major danger."

"But what about the race?" Rylee asked. From the beginning, winning first place has been his priority. It meant more than any of his friends. And especially more than a few humans.

"It… it doesn't matter anymore." He sounded high-strung. Stressed. "Rylee, you have to listen to what I say. See the exit of the stadium, on the other side? I'm going to break through those gates, and make a run for it through the forest. I'm going to drop you somewhere safe, and keep driving as far as I can until he finds me. But I can't let him hurt you. Or anyone here."

"He?" Rylee tensed as well. "Who's 'he'?"

"That jet flying above," Knockout said darkly. "That's Starscream. Thundercracker's full-fledged decepticon trinemate, and the second in command of the devil Megatron himself. And with the way he's loading those missiles, it doesn't look like he's here to watch."

Author's Note

Hey all, thanks for reading! I know I haven't written in a while, but last night I went on a spree and wrote three whole chapters - the ones I thought would take a long time to write (and dreaded writing for a long time because I felt like it had to be extra good!) The good news is, I've written them, and I only have 3 more chapters to write after that before the the story is completely finished. I'll update again in a few days probably, but until then prepare yourself for whatever comes next :)


	39. Retribution - KNOCKOUT - 36

CHAPTER 36 - KNOCKOUT 

The jet was in view once again, his missiles now aiming at Knockout specifically. It seems like he's singled out Knockout at last, despite his appearance changes.

"Now!" Knockout yelled. They took a sharp right turn, nearly ramming into other race cars and broke through the chain link fence that blocked the track from the exit. The abrupt turn jostled Rylee around, and she hit her head on the glass.

"Are you alright?" Knockout asked frantically, as he drove through the arena's hallways. Knockout honked the whole way, and deeply puzzled people jumped out of the way. He had to make it to the doors. And he had to break them, or else he'd be stuck indoors and Starscream would start bombing the upside of the arena - the stands - just to reach him. He wouldn't care before. But now that couldn't happen. He then looked at Rylee rubbing the side of her head. But most importantly, he couldn't let anything happen to her either. Maybe racing was a mistake after all. Why was Starscream even here? Wasn't he torn apart by Predaking's cronies?

"I'm alright, but _ ow _," Rylee squinted. "Hey, at least it's not as bad as that recent car crash of mine." Knockout let out a huff of a chuckle, but he was too tense to really joke around. He knew firsthand what Starscream was capable of. Especially when wronged.

At last, Knockout was at the doors of the arena and easily broke free, crashing down and flying through the cold wind of the night. The closer he got to the forest the more the brush slowed him down, but he had to keep driving. He had to.

"Starscream," Rylee breathed. "I've heard of him. Bad, really bad guy."

"Yeah…" Knockout trailed off. "Loyal Decepticon. I kind of… betrayed him at the end in order to join the Autobots. I don't think he's forgotten that." There was a silence, only the whipping of wind and crinkle of undergrowth breaking through the nothingness. News helicopters flew ahead, attempting to keep pace with them. "Rylee, look, I need to get you somewhere safe. In a minute or so, I'm going to slow down, let you out, and keep driving. Promise you'll take off in the opposite direction as soon as you're out."

"But will I ever see you again?" Rylee asked, a sort of sadness in her eyes.

Knockout hesitated. He knew she wouldn't want to leave if he said no - but it was most likely the truth, no matter how this shaped out. He was under attack from all sides. He didn't want to bring that danger to her too.

Knockout was saved from answering by a voice over the intercoms.

"What in the name of Primus - what are you doing?" came Ratchet's voice over the intercoms. _ Did they not notice? How could they not notice Starscream? _

Knockout began to answer before suddenly a blast radiated from above him, accompanied by the sound of a jet nearing closer. EMP blast.

"Look," Rylee remarked shakily. "The helicopters… _ oh my god _ , Knockout look …" her eyes were fixed above the treeline in terror. "The helicopters are _ falling out of the sky _."

Sure enough, the helicopters crashed to the floor, and communications between them and the rest of Team Knockout had died. It was just them, and the sinister jet flying above. Before Knockout could get any further, the jet transformed and forcefully landed right in front - if Knockout hadn't braked, he would've impacted his hood. In terror, Knockout looked up at the cybertronian in front of him. It was Starscream alright - but it wasn't the measly Starscream from the end of the war. No, this was Starscream's original frame - the red, blue, and yellow now streaked on him like warpaint - and he now towered over Knockout. The frame Thundercracker shared - and the frame he wore when he was unforgivably ruthless and not worn down by tragedy. That was when Starscream was his most dangerous. And was absolutely not good news for right now.

"Knockout, Knockout," Starscream crooned, slowly stepping closer as Knockout attempted to reverse. Starscream's mischievousness was quickly replaced with anger, and he stamped his foot onto a rock, quickly crushing it. "Get _ up _and talk to me!" He screamed in anger.

The situation was getting worse by the minute. Knockout glanced at Rylee, who looked like she was on the verge of fainting._ How? How can he keep her safe anymore? _

Knockout transformed, standing up and quickly hiding Rylee behind his leg. He felt her hands on the cold metal, and was thankful she was smart enough to not peek at Starscream.

"Oh, Knockout, how I enjoy this reunion," Starscream mused, slowly pacing like a predator on the hunt. "Especially after you betrayed me and left me to rust. No Autobots to save you now. And I wonder, what are you doing on this lump of dirt again anyways? Nothing _ better _to do?"

"Starscream," Knockout replied uneasily. "If I'm going to very well be honest, I thought you were dead. And, I'm uh… sorry you're not. Things would've been so much easier, if I'm going to be honest again. And if I may know… _ why _ are you here?" He knew he was fumbling so badly, but he didn't quite know how to deal with this situation. "If you want to know why _ I'm _here, you already know I have an appreciation for Earth culture."

"_ No _ , you have an appreciation for _ Earth automobiles _ . You'd let the rest burn. Not the same thing." Starscream paused, looking to the sky with a grin. "Unless…" there was a faintest shuffle of leaves from Rylee (in an attempt to hide from Starscream's pacing view), and Knockout winced. Starscream had definitely picked up on her by now. "Have you grown _ soft _?" Starscream finally finished, with a sneer. Starscream moved forward a bit, and set optics upon a shuddering terrified Rylee, clinging tightly to Knockout's metal.

"Aw, who is this?" Starscream said mockingly, bending down towards her. "Your new pet?"

Danger bells rung in Knockout's head, and he quickly put a hand between her and Starscream, defending her. "Leave her alone."

"Why?" Starscream purred, reaching out, and Knockout and Rylee slowly backed up away from him. "It's just a _ human _ . You were ready to kill _ billions _of them a few months ago."

"Starscream." Knockout muttered darkly. "Whatever you want with me, just let Rylee go free. She's innocent."

"Rylee, is it?" Starscream cocked his head to the side, on the prowl again. "I'm sure I would have heard it eventually - oh, you'll be screaming her name when I inevitably snap her spine."

"What do you _ want _!" Knockout yelled, putting a foot forward in fury.

"Oh, _ there's _ the fire I was looking for," Starscream remarked with a devilish smile. "What do you want? I want you to suffer. I want revenge. I want you to lose all you care about, and then die by my hands. Equal retribution for what you've done to me." Starscream put a hand to his chin, red eyes glowing in the darkness. "But it's no fun if you're so preoccupied with _ protecting _that you won't even fight back."

"If that's what it takes, I'll give you a fight," Knockout said cautiously, hand still in front of Rylee. "But… _ how _did you find me? I don't have a tracker on. How can you find me faster than Cybertron's own Elite Guard?"

"Oh, right," Starscream's gloating smile fell, and a scowl replaced it. "Don't act like you had nothing to do with the signal. At one point, I would've maybe let you go free. But then you had to do _ this _\- like a direct attack right at me."

Knockout faltered. "W- Huh? What?"

"Don't play dumb!" Starscream screeched, his hand in a fist. "Thundercracker's signal came from this location, and disappeared! Who do I find down here? YOU! How… _ dare _ you defile Thundercracker's memory! Disrespect him! Tarnish everything he stood for in your mad attempt for whatever this is! I should strike you down where you stand, but I want you to _ suffer _first." It sounded as if the power of his new frame had gotten to his head, but he couldn't exactly blame him. Kitted with null rays and twice Knockout's strength now, he honestly wouldn't really be a match. He had to stand up to him somehow, though.

"Thundercracker? I - we didn't do that! Thundercracker's here at the arena, he's alive!" Knockout hollered. He quickly realized he shouldn't have said that - TC's existence was supposed to be a secret. But he doubted he'd believe him anyways - he had already targeted all his rage avenging Thundercracker towards Knockout, and there seemed to be no way to change his mind.

"LIAR!" the jet screamed, his steps now pounding the floor. The EMP kept all electronics nearby from being used, but he wouldn't be surprised if everyone in the arena could hear their debacle.

"I know you'll never believe me," Knockout held his hands out, mindful that Rylee was still safe behind him. "But there has to be some way we can settle this peacefully."

"No," Starscream snarled, backing up and bending slightly as if he were about to pounce. "I'll never stop until you're nothing but scraps on the ground."

Author's Note

Sorry for the long wait, and sorry for the cliffhanger :) I've had these chapters (and the next one) finished for a while now, just looking for the right time to post them. Plus I'd like to finish the whole story before posting the next chapter, so that my updates can be regular. School started up again, so I'm not sure if I'll have a lot of time, but I'll aim to finish by the book's one year anniversary :)

Thanks again for your support and for reading!


	40. Death - Rylee - 37

CHAPTER 37 - RYLEE (Death)

Starscream flew at Knockout, and with nudge from Knockout she dove toward the trees. She could barely comprehend the situation they were in, but seeing Starscream made her freeze in fear. He is the terror she thought Thundercracker was. He was the one she saw in her nightmares. He is the Decepticons. He is Death.

Rylee fumbled through the forest as Knockout and Starscream threw down. She ran into trees, the only light to guide her way being the shining red optics of Knockout and Starscream. After tripping over the third tree, she finally stumbled onto the floor, hands grasping the leaves and hyperventilating. This couldn't be real. This was the night Knockout and her were supposed to be happy, to enjoy one last victory. She was supposed to peacefully say goodbye to Knockout as he left to Cybertron - not wordlessly lose him forever to a vengeful megalomaniac. In between her frantic tears, she focused on the device on her hand with a gasp. The communicator! _ Maybe I could call the Elite Guard? Being locked in jail was better than being dead by Starscream's hands. For the both of us. _She frantically pushed buttons on the device, but it seems it was shorted out by the EMP blast as well. She threw her hands to the ground and curled up in despair. In the moonlight's shadows she could see them still fighting, but it seemed Starscream majorly had the upper hand.

He was probably trying to distract Starscream from her, by letting himself get beat up to allow her time to escape. But she just couldn't. She couldn't let him do that to himself, she couldn't abandon him. Not like she'd been abandoned before.

She finally turned and looked back up at them fighting, and instantly regretted it. It appeared she was no longer camouflaged when the reflection on her eyes were visible, because Starscream's head snapped to look at her.

With a sinister smirk, he got off Knockout. "Oh, _ there's _the creature. If you'll only give me a moment." He took off the ground toward her with jet propulsed boots, arm outstretched toward her. She crawled backward as much as she could, but then Starscream fell inches from her face.

"No!" Knockout screamed, having grabbed Starscreams boot and chained him to the ground. "I told you, your fight is with _ me _."

"Hmm," Starscream mused, slightly lifting himself up. "Not yet." He kicked Knockout in the face, who stumbled backwards, energon leaking from his mouth. Starscream then redirected his attention to Rylee. But she had a headstart first. She took off running - not down the forest, no. She couldn't bring the fight to populated areas. She ran higher up the forested hill - she found herself instinctively missing every hole in the ground and slippery rocks, and soon realized she'd been here before. This was Phoenix Ark. The same place she'd visited with Knockout many times before. And now she was running from his past.

She caught sight of a familiar boulder - the one her and Knockout had sat on to watch the cityscape. It wasn't the best hiding spot, but there was no such thing as hiding when going against a killing machine. It was at least the best place to die.

"Oh, stop running," his grating voice echoed through the trees, stirring the slumbering birds from them. "We know how this is going to end. Don't make it more difficult."

Starscream didn't see her yet, crouched on the boulder. She clenched her hand so tightly that her nails dug into her skin, and she fought tears. She didn't want to die. She was only nineteen. She thought of her mom, her dad, Jack, Miko, Raf, Thundercracker, Smokescreen, Ratchet and even Agent Fowler and June. And she thought of Knockout. She looked up at Cybertron in the sky - the place neither of them would see after today. The bushy leaves of the grand oak tree beside her obscured the view at times. But even if she couldn't see it, she knew it was still there.

Rylee perked up. That was it. She'd spent time climbing trees with her dad while younger - she was somewhat decent at it as long as she didn't fall. If she could just reach the foliage, she could be somewhat disguised from Starscream.

She crawled to the backside of the tree and gripped the bark, lifting herself up. She'd never climbed a tree this tall, but the adrenaline of this life-or-death situation certainly helped. At last she reached the top, and she peeked through the branches. Starscream was now headed toward the boulder where she once sat, and he looked especially agitated.

"Despicable organic," Starscream spouted it as if it was a curse. "Where are you? You can't hide for long. Reveal yourself and I'll make it quick." He paused and then tilted his head to the side. "Or maybe I'll drag Knockout over here and have him die slowly before your eyes."

Rylee gasped, then quickly put her hand over her mouth. Before Starscream could gauge where she was, he was tackled by Knockout.

"I… told… you!" Knockout panted, obviously beat up already. "Your… fight .. is with me!"

"And I told you _ not yet _."

With some effort, Starscream was able to throw Knockout off. He then scanned the trees, and set burning red eyes on Rylee with a smile.

She couldn't help it - she screamed. And it turns out Knockout screamed as well - a thundering "No!" came through the air. But as Knockout dove at him, Starscream used his own force against him and with a critical hit, Knockout now laid on the floor, slightly incapacitated. Even though Rylee tried to scurry away, Starscream was able to grab her from the tree - his cold metal grip tight. She squeezed shut her eyes - this was it, this was the end. But it wasn't. He hadn't killed her yet. Why?  
"Oh, Knockout," Starscream crooned, while Knockout tried to lift himself up with effort but failing. "You must learn to stop finding weaknesses. First Breakdown, now this creature? This _Rylee_? You'd think you would have learned by now." Starscream tightened his grip, and she whimpered. Her arms were free, but that didn't help. A bit tighter and her ribs would be damaged.

"Just... kill me," Knockout huffed. "Let her… go."

"I don't think you understand that there's no fun in that," Starscream smiled deviously at him, bending down and holding Rylee out almost as if she were bait.

"I kill her, then I get to emotionally devastate you, get a true all-out battle _ and _I get to kill you." He smiled. "Three in one package."

"Starscream-!" Knockout raised his voice. It was at that moment that her bracelet communicator came back online - the EMP's effects had worn off on Cybertronian tech much faster than human. She widened her eyes and quickly grabbed for it. She unlocked it, and was one little press away from calling the Elite Guard - their saviors - until Starscream noticed.

"Nuh uh uh. You don't think I know what that is? Was I forged yesterday?" With his other hand, Starscream lifted the bracelet's arm up and crushed it - with Rylee screaming in pain the whole time. The bracelet was still intact. Her bones were not. "What I really want to know is, how did some fragile thing like _ you _get something so important?"

"Starscream… stop." Knockout almost whimpered.

Tears went streaming out of her eyes - she took it back, not even the car crash was nearly as bad as this. She didn't think she could handle sitting there as he broke every bone in her body, especially seeing the pain in Knockout's optics as well. She frantically grasped for the bracelet with her other functioning arm, but Starscream was ready for that as well.

"Tch. Don't you ever learn?" Starscream lifted up the functioning arm, so that she was eye level with him. Not an ounce of sympathy lied in his eyes - not one bit of reservation. The cold blooded careless stare chilled her as well, as she hung in the view of this psychopathic machine.

"I... don't understand," Rylee heavily breathed, holding her head high. "How… you and Knockout… can be the same species. Despite… you… he has a heart. And he's… a better Cybertronian… than you'll _ ever _be." The last part came out sharply, and for a moment, Starscream looked almost perturbed by her outlash.

"Hmm…" Starscream tilted his head, unamused. "Your creature has an attitude." Starscream looked at her a little while longer, and Rylee met his gaze with fire. "Oh, that's too bad." He finally said, and forcefully flicked her aside as if she were trash. About twenty feet in the air, she impacted with the huge trunk of the tree, her back arching with unbelievable pain.

And then everything went dark.

Author's Note

Hi all :)

I have the next 2 chapters fully written, and they're sorta long. I only have the epilogue left to write, which will be released on November 11, so that I completed my story exactly a year after I started it. I'll release the next 2 chapters over the next 2 Mondays. The whole story will finally be complete soon, only 3 more chapters in 3 weeks! I've had a lot of fun writing this fic, and hopefully you've enjoyed it too.


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